The Burlington Bandits avoided elimination by the Barrie Baycats with a 3-2 home game win
Adam Odd singled and hit a solo home run for the Bandits. Kevin Hussey doubled and drove in a run, and Canice Ejoh singled twice and scored once.
Ryan Beckett (1-1) threw a complete-game five-hitter. He was charged with two earned runs and walked two while striking out six.
Jeff Cowan hit a solo home run for the defending champion Baycats. Kyle DeGrace had the other RBI. Ryan Spataro singled twice and scored a run.
Emilis Guererro (1-1) went eight innings and scattered nine hits and three runs, striking out 10 without issuing a walk.
Barrie leads the best-of-seven quarter-final 3-1.
Things didn’t go as well for the Hamilton Cardinals. The Kitchener Panthers swept the first four games in a seven game quarter final play off and become the first IBL team Cardinals to advance in the IBL playoffs.
Kitchener took the fourth game in an 11-4 win Tuesday night.
Tanner Nivins went 3-for-6 with three runs and an RBI, while Sean Reilly singled twice and drove in two runs. Jonathan Brouse, Frank Camilo Morejon and Mike Andrulis each had a hit and an RBI, Mike Glinka singled, doubled, drove in a run and scored twice, Terrell Alliman had two hits and a run, and Justin Interisano singled once and scored three runs with three walks.
David Whiteside (1-0) went 5.2 innings for the win, allowing four runs on nine hits, walking five and striking out three.
Chris Beer homered and drove in two for the Cardinals, who finished seventh in the regular season. Tyler Hardie doubled twice and had an RBI and run, TJ Baker drove in a run, and Geoffrey Seto had two singles and a run.
Jonathan Palumbo (0-1) took the loss after giving up six runs (three earned) in 1.1 innings, walking four without striking out a batter. Chris Lazar started and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits over 4.2 innings, walking two and striking out one.
In Guelph the Royals were taken out of the quarter finals by the London Majors but it wasn’t easy.
London let a three-run lead slip away in the ninth inning before scoring the winning run in the top of the 10th in Game 4 of the best-of-seven quarter-final Tuesday night. The Majors won 10-9.
The Majors’ winning rally started with two outs when Chris McQueen walked and stole second. RJ Fuhr doubled on a full count to bring him home.
Guelph had runners on first and third in the bottom of the inning, but Todd Leavitt struck out Blake Kauer to end the game and the series.
Fuhr had two hits, an RBI and run, while Carlos Arteaga had two RBI. Brett Sabourin and Byron Reichstein each drove in a run.
Leavitt (1-0) threw a hitless inning for the win. London’s sixth reliever walked one without striking out a batter. Starter Cory Hammond went six innings and gave up a run on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
Guelph’s Chandler McLaren had four hits and finished a triple short of the cycle. He drove in four and scored twice. Matt Schmidt had two hits, an RBI and run, Jeff MacLeod added a pair of hits and scored once, while Keegan Marsden, Kyle Alarcon and Trevor Nyp all drove in a run.
Alexander Gowing (0-1) took the loss, giving up a run on one hit in 1.1 innings of relief. He struck out two and walked one. AJ Mackey started and allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits, striking out seven and walking two.
Guelph outhit London 14-8 but committed five errors, while London committed three.
2016 IBL quarter-finals
Series A (1) London Majors vs (8) Guelph Royals London wins series 4-0 Game 1: London 9, Guelph 4 Game 2: London 10, Guelph 0 Game 3: London 8, Guelph 5 Game 4: London 10, Guelph 9 (10)
Series B (2) Kitchener Panthers vs. (7) Hamilton
Cardinals Kitchener wins series 4-0
Game 1: Kitchener 12, Hamilton 6 Game 2: Kitchener 6, Hamilton 2 Game 3: Kitchener 17, Hamilton 7 Game 4: Kitchener 11, Hamilton 4
Series C (3) Barrie Baycats vs. (6) Burlington Bandits
Barrie leads series 3-1
Game 1: Barrie 6, Burlington 1 Game 2: Barrie 7, Burlington 3 Game 3: Barrie 14, Burlington 4 Game 4: Burlington 3, Barrie 2 Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m.
Series D (4) Brantford Red Sox vs. (5) Toronto Maple Leafs
Brantford leads series 2-1
Game 1: Brantford 9, Toronto 8 (10 innings) Game 2: Toronto 6, Brantford 5 Game 3: Brantford 16, Toronto 6 Game 4: Wednesday, Aug. 10 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 5: Friday, Aug. 12 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 6: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Toronto; TBD *Game 7: Sunday, Aug. 14 at Brantford; 8 p.m.
The error in the map – blame the city – not the Gazette has been corrected.
Notice of Temporary Road Closure – Prospect Street at Drury Lane, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016 to Friday, Oct. 21, 2016
Prospect Street from Joyce Street to Ashley Avenue and Drury Lane from Sharron Street to Fairview Street will be closed Monday, Aug. 15, 2016 to Friday, Oct. 21, 2016 to reconstruct and install new water mains and sanitary sewers.
Local access to homes and business will be maintained. Please refer to the map for vehicle and transit detours.
For more information, please contact Bob Jurk at 905-335-7600, ext. 7682 or bob.jurk@burlington.ca.
A video has been posted that shows waste garbage near a storm water grate at the Brant Street Beach, near the Brant Street Pier.
Burlington singer Sarah Harmer and producer Brett Rogers met with Mayor Rick Goldring, Regional officials and Marianne Meed Ward, the city Councillor for the downtown core of the city.
In a media release the city said:
Sarah Harmer, Rogers, Mayor Rick Goldring, Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward and city staff responsible for storm water management and communication were joined at City Hall by Halton Regional staff responsible for drinking water and public health, including testing beaches for swimming safety.
The meeting follows the posting of a video by Rogers that shows garbage near a storm water grate at the Brant Street Beach, near the Brant Street Pier.
“We had a good discussion today with Brett, Sarah and staff,” said Mayor Goldring. “As a result of today’s meeting, city and regional staff are working to further quantify elements that impact storm water management and beach water quality in Burlington in order to determine next steps. We know Lake Ontario is a tremendous asset to our community.”
A natural beach created when land jutting out into the lake was formed – some think the “mini-beach should have a boat dock dropped into place. You can see where the water discharge pipe is located on the right hand side.
“The small beach at Spencer Smith Park is well-loved and well-used,” said Councillor Meed Ward. “I’m grateful to Brett and Sarah for raising awareness about water quality and how we handle storm water, especially as more development occurs, and we lose green space.
There are lots of options for us, including low-impact development, green infrastructure and storm water utilities. I’m committed to exploring those.”
That water run off pipe is what results in part of the problem with the small beach at the foot of Brant Street. That plus the geese that foul the water. There is always a sign on this beach that tells you if the water is safe.
From the left: City Councillor Marianne Meed Ward, Sarah Harmer, Brett Rogers and Allan Magi, Executive Director of Capital works for the city. Harmer is casting a wary eye on what Magi is explaining – and well she should.
The five next steps before the group meets in September are:
• Halton Region health staff will connect with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to determine if it is possible to do any testing of the outfall and, if possible, would testing be meaningful.
• The City of Burlington will research end-of-pipe technologies that could be possible for the storm water outlet at Brant Street Beach. Staff will also check in with the city’s roads and parks maintenance department to learn about current geese management practices.
• The City of Burlington will connect with other agencies, including Conservation Halton and Halton Region, and compile a list of current education programs related to storm water and beaches, also researching best practices for communicating.
• The City of Burlington will look at the signs created in the past year featuring halton.ca/beaches, which are posted at both Burlington Beach and Brant Street Beach. The city will look at possible additional signage related to animals on Burlington’s beaches.
• Mayor Goldring is hosting a follow-up meeting with Rogers and Harmer, Councillor Meed Ward and staff in mid-September to report back on the findings and determine possible next steps.
The Beach Brett Rogers was using was one of the bonuses that came with the $14 million pier. Sand began to form on the west side of the pier and that spot where the Naval Promenade begins yards away from the Waterfront Hotel.
When the city realized the formation of sand was going to continue they built a small walkway to the edge of the water. The location is now used by children who want to be near the water. Some small craft beach their boars there from time to time.
The testing of water quality is a Regional government responsibility. At one time the Region would issue regular water quality reports but they stopped doing that at the end of the 2015 summer season.
Brett Rogers is a producer and adventurer and co-creator of the History Channel’s 7 Days in Hell.
Sarah Harmer is the founder of PERL – Protecting Escarpment Rural Lands and a well-known singer who has won numerous awards. She was a significant witness during the Tribunal that eventually decided not to issue a permit to the Nelson Aggregate company that wanted to expand the quarry in north Burlington.
The discharge pipe has been in place for years; it was the keen eye of Brett Rogers that saw the scope of the problem.
On a web site of his own Brett Rogers gives what he calls “his rant”. It follows:
Brett Rogers – a guy who loves what he is doing.
On Saturday I went paddle boarding at my local launch point at Spencer Smith Park, in Burlington. You could make a good argument that between Spencer Smith Park and the Skyway bridge is some of the best recreational shoreline on Lake Ontario. Spencer Smith hosts some pretty awesome festivals like the Sound of Music and Rib Fest, while Burlington Beach is honestly one of the best places to swim, anywhere. Over the last four years I have spent a lot of my leisure time paddling my standup paddle board here. I love this place so much.
I’ve always had a close relationship with fresh water and I like to think that I’ve done a good job at respecting and celebrating water too. One of my News Years resolutions this year was to be a better fresh water advocate. The truth is, yeah I’ve done a good job at being a fresh water advocate over the past decade but I have not done a great job, and in this world, there are only great efforts and shitty efforts. Trust me in that I do not want to be a shitty fresh water advocate, which means I either up my game, or I shut up. And if you know me, I rarely shut up so I decided to up my game.
A big part of upping my game has been about reconnecting with an old mentor of mine, Mark Mattson. Mark is my Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. I worked for him for 9 months, 9 years ago. Looking back now, man was that an awesome job. Over the past handful of months I have really taken every opportunity of free time to help promote the work Mark is doing. A big part of that has been collecting Watermarks and exploring Burlington Bay in Annie, my York Boat. Since I’ve spent so much time with Mark lately, I’ve also learned a ton about Lake Ontario – some things that are truly out of this world cool and something, well, they just pissed me off.
Take Saturday for example. On that day I went paddle boarding with one of my best buddies. It was a wicked 3 hours on the lake. We launched and pulled out at this tiny little beach (maybe the smallest sandy beach on all of the Great Lakes) at Spencer Smith Park. As we paddled back in I noticed this huge culvert pipe between the beach and the pier. Now last year, I would had not even paid attention to such a feature, but this year I am like an eagle on the water, constantly on the lookout for a target – pollution. I notice this pipe and I think to myself, ‘I bet this dam thing is dumping storm water into my lake!’.
I guess the Lake Ontario gods had the same thought because last night, which was Sunday night, I wake up at 3 am to a huge thunder and lightning storm. I shut the windows and I can feel the mist of the rain blowing through the screen. It’s raining hard. The first thing that comes to my mind is that dam pipe! So I get out of bed, grab my video camera and drive 20 minutes down to the Lake. I have to investigate.
I love my home. I am proud of it. Both in terms of my roots in the country where I live and as a citizen of the City of Burlington. I’ve traveled a bunch and I do believe that this city is one of the best cities in all the world to live in. It’s not to big, not to small and with two totally awesome natural features that I am so proud of – the Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario. Plus Burlington really does has a nice downtown which we should all be proud about. But man… was I pissed off this morning. I mean, I was mad. How the hell can a great medium size City like Burlington be cutting corners like this and pull off this type of cronyism?
To deal with my anger (and utter disappointment) I felt I needed to pull some of those images and make this short video – if only for my mental well being but hopefully, to bring about change. Here’s the thing. As a Canadian, and as a member of the Burlington community, I really have no business worrying about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest when there is bull shit going on right here in my home town. Yes there are horrible things going on all over the world, but who am I to become engaged in ‘those’ issues when my own city and municipality are dumping pollution into the one of the greatest lakes on Earth, and the drinking water source for 9 million people! I don’t even drink from Lake Ontario, I am on a well, but I am still angry!
Motis, a Canadian action sports company, will be leading skateboard and longboard building workshops across Ontario at Lee Valley Tool stores.
Participants will get a hands-on education by using saws, sanders and drills to create their own skateboard or long board, which they will take home with them.
Ward Councillor Blair Lancaster and Mayor Rick Goldring put their political reputations on the line and stand on skate boards. Is there one foot on the ground there? Don’t expect t see these two at the skate board workshop.
These one-day workshops will run from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Participants will use templates to draw out their unique shape on a pre-pressed Canadian maple blank, and then use a band-saw to cut out their board.
They will then router and sand their board and will drill out holes. In the afternoon, participants will create their own custom artwork. With the use of a vinyl cutter, participants will create stencils to spray paint custom images onto their deck. Grip tape will be applied to the top. Trucks, wheels, bearings and hardware are not included in the workshop fee, but participants are encouraged to bring their own so they can complete their new boards by the end of the day.
These are the guys that can get something out of the workshops being offered at Lee Valley Tools on Thursday.
When? Thursday, August 11 at the Lee Valley location in the Plaza east of Guelph Line, immediately south of Mainway.
The city’s Fall and Winter 2016/2017 Live and Play Guide, featuring listings for recreation, sport and culture programs, will be available in city facilities and online at www.burlington.ca/play on Thursday, Aug. 11.
Registration begins on Saturday, Aug. 20 for adults over 19, adults over 55 and those looking to sign up for fitness classes.
Registration for all other programs starts at 11 a.m.
Kids + water = fun and noise – all part of the summer season.
“We’re not ready to say goodbye to the summer weather just yet, but we are looking ahead to the fall and winter months and all the fun opportunities for play that the cooler weather brings,” said Chris Glenn, the city’s director of parks and recreation. “The online guide is an easy and convenient way for residents to search and sign up for their favourite activities and recreation programs.”
The city’s popular Yoga in the Park program is featured on the cover of the fall/winter guide. The free yoga classes run every Sunday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in a different city park each week starting Sept. 11. Each session features a different, certified volunteer yoga instructor. Participants are asked to wear comfortable clothing and bring a yoga mat, a towel, and water. All levels are welcome.
Hundreds of families use Burlington parks and beaches.
The City of Burlington offers a variety of registered and drop-in programs for all ages and abilities throughout the city. Hard copies of the guide are available at City Hall, 426 Brant St., Burlington Public Library branches or any city recreation centre.
To receive future copies of the online guide by email, subscribe to the Live and Play e-newsletter at www.burlington.ca/enews.
For details on how to register for fall/winter programs and events, see page three of the guide or visit www.burlington.ca/play.
There is nothing conventional in the race for the US White House this year. The chief contenders are anything but conventional.
One is exceptionally qualified, and the other not at all, so the choice should be easy. But none of that seems to matter to an electorate tired of the ordinary and mundane and looking for something new, fresh and exciting.
Not unlike the bi-polar school teacher in the 1977 movie version of the book “Looking for Mr. Goodbar”, there is a new fascination with someone who isn’t part of one’s conventional experience – a new exciting high to be achieved by toying with the prospect of danger – the fantasy and the reality. Which brings us to Donald Trump, a man who has shown no comprehension of the job before him, though if nothing else he is exciting.
As outgoing president Obama made emphatic, there is no better qualified candidate than Hillary Clinton. And if qualification and experience were all that mattered there would be no contest, and the tired but somewhat boring and compromised Hillary would be the shoo-in victor on election day. After all, she is running against a man with a dubious record in his business ventures and one who has never even run for public office – let alone the highest office in the land, in all his seventy years.
But America is a divided people, red and blue states that rarely change their colour, beset with long suffering prejudices on all sides. Despite electing a black president two terms in a row, America is still conflicted with racism. It is a violent place with more guns per capita and greater incarceration than any other.
Despite having the most super rich, the US is only 44th in health care efficiency, 24th in literacy, 14th in education, and arguably has the second highest level of social ignorance among developed nations. Surprisingly at least one survey tags the USA at 46th in press freedom.
And if Trump’s plan to make America great again included dealing with those issues – every thinking American should consider voting for him. But it doesn’t. There is nothing of such to be seen in all his diatribe on America First and making it great again, nothing about introducing gun control, promoting economic and social justice, and furthering education and awareness. Hillary’s plan comes closer to those goals, in fact.
Donald Trump cleaned-up in the Republican nomination race by simply being himself. His victory was more of a fluke than a deliberate strategy. He just plumbed for and echoed the deepest, darkest recesses of the worst of America, and spewed racism, homophobia and insults as no American politician had done before. The more outlandish his comments, the more he gained notoriety and support among disciples who mistook his words of prejudice for plain-speaking. He was/is different and exciting. But what makes him dangerous is his lack of detail – what he actually would do.
Once he scored the candidacy of his party one would have expected a whole new playbook, more befitting of a presidential candidate in the big arena. But Trump doesn’t have one. He has nothing to offer but his swagger, a revisionist unfunny Roger Dangerfield for our times. Whether that will continue to propel him is the big question. Hillary has not been able to cripple the significant public support he continues to garner. And so, like other irrational outcomes of public will, such as Rob Ford’s election and Brexit, Trump should not be discounted.
An interesting aspect of this race is the Russian card. Putin has confessed admiration for Trump and vice-versa. Trump’s campaign manager is pro-Putin, having advised the ousted pro-Russian Ukrainian leader, and the Donald’s musing about NATO and Crimea should be unsettling to an America once ready to nuke the Russkies to smithereens, and likewise. But Trump is the inveterate teflon-man and even flirting with Putin has not bothered his core followers, including many veterans and those raised during the cold war.
As the election gets nearer and Trump continues to poll well, Americans will need to ask themselves some hard questions. The first being how badly do they want the kind of change Trump is promising – isolation and a radical shifting of alliances. Do they really want to give him a carte blanche to reverse the past half century of American foreign policy?
Going to bed with Putin might be an exciting idea.
But where will this dangerous fantasy lead? Is Putin really Mr. Goodbar?
Editor’s note:
The conventions are over and the general election has officially begun. In the primaries, Bernie Sanders received 1,846 pledged delegates, 46% of the total. Hillary Clinton received 2,205 pledged delegates, 54%. She received 602 superdelegates. Sanders received 48 superdelegates.
The Democratic party, based on these numbers, is not as united as they would have us believe. These are very dangerous times for the United States. Rivers will write next on what he thinks Canada can and should do to protect its interests.
Ray Rivers is an economist and author who writes weekly on federal and provincial issues, applying his 25 years of involvement with federal and provincial ministries. Rivers’ involvement in city matters led to his appointment as founding chair of Burlington’s Sustainable Development Committee. He was also a candidate in the 1995 provincial election
Brant Street, Hemmingway Drive and Upper Middle Road, August to December, 2016
The Region of Halton is installing and replacing water mains on Brant Street, Upper Middle Road and Hemmingway Drive from August to December 2016.
New street got a new layer of asphalt after a full month of dust and traffic delays while water maims and sewage pipes were upgraded.
New Street from Guelph Line east to Martha had water mains replaced in July – the dust was terrible – and traffic delays were annoying. They did lay down a new layer of asphalt – nice road now.
Contract Number: W-2898B-16
Scheduled Start Date: August 2016 Scheduled Completion Date: December 2016
In 2016, the city chose to discontinue the sand castles content event in the Beachway that they had been hosting since 2008.
Some of the sand castles done in 2015 were very complex.
The event, which had a following of its own, was initially created to bring both awareness and visitors to the Burlington beach. This highly successful, award-winning event has done just that. Now the city is looking for a new a host in the community.
The city has received an event application to host a similar event on the beach for 2017. The organizer noted that they did not feel that they had sufficient time to plan the event for 2016.
Clearly a labour of love.
So – it looks as if there will be a sand castle event on the Beachway in 2017.
Not having the event this year was perhaps a piece of good planning luck – with Lakeshore shut down completely while the road is being rebuilt and raised by about as much as a metre in some place – traffic could not have gotten to the Beachway very easily. The map below show how messy traffic is down there.
It would not have been easy to reach the Beachway Park this year if there had been a sand castle contest.
It was a small, dignified ceremony on a lovely sunny summer afternoon at HMCS Star aboard the retired Tribal Class destroyer HMCS Haida.
There Colonel Roger Vandomm, of the French Consulate pinned a medal on the chest of Bill McConnell. The media release had Bill down as William (Bill) Basil McConnell RN (retd)
HMS Ramillies firing all four 16 inch guns
While aboard the British Battleship HMS Ramillies, Bill, as what we would call an electrician today, climbed up into the Aloft Directory of the ship to fix an electrical fitting when the four 16 inch guns of the battleship roared.
Bill was not able to put his hands over his ears because, as he put it, “you can’t cover both ears, hold the ladder and your tool kit at the same time”. He was instantly deafened, completely in on ear and seriously in the other.
Battleships were huge ships and carried four 16 inch guns that sometimes were fired so often that the paint burned off the barrels. We rattle off that phrase “16 inch guns” quickly when we are talking about a big bullet that measures more than a foot wide.
The roar of the shell coming out of a barrel, four of them at the same time, pushes that battle ship sideways.
The guns had huge range and required a crew of gunners, fitters and electrical types to maintain it. Bill was one of the electrical type, known then as an electrical artificers,
Bill joined the navy at the age of 11. He was at the Royal Hospital School, which was part of the British Navy at the time. It was basically a boarding school where the students wore uniforms. The students got seven weeks of vacation each year. Bill’s father was a Gunnery Chief Petty Officer, these were tough men.
Bill served on a number of ships – the one that he served on the longest was HMS Ramillies, a First World War battleship that was deemed to be good enough to put to sea.
The electrical types were seen as better educated than other ratings – thus when it was clear there was going to be a war in 1938, Bill found himself doing paperwork related to reserve naval types being called up. It was a situation where 15 year old boys were doing the paper work that brought men, some 60 years of age, back into the service.
HMS Ramillies was part of the naval support on DDay. She was tasked with taking out German guns at Benneville shown on the far right. They needed just 80 minutes to destroy most of the German guns
Ramillies was part of the D Day landing in June of 1944. She was to use her big guns to take out a German battery with six 6” guns at Beneville, France to the east end of Sword Beach. The Ramillies took out four of those gun batteries in 80 minutes. The British shells coming in meant the Germans had to do their best to return fire and were not able to train their guns on the troops landing on the beaches.
It was during this battle that Bill had to go aloft to the Aloft Director to repair some electrical equipment. The Aloft Director is the station high up on the ship that was used for observation.
The Allied landings on the Beaches of Normandy France were ferocious battles; thousands of men were lost. It was however the battle that turned the tide and the beginning of the Liberation of France.
Legion d’Honneur awarded by the President of the republic of France.
On the 70th Anniversary of the war ending the French government decided to make anyone who was involved in the landings a member of the Legion d’Honneur – the Legion of Honour.
During the ceremony on Sunday Colonel Vandomm read a document that said: “By order of the President of the Republic of France, you have been awarded the rank of Knight of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour.
Chief Petty Officer William Basil McConnell being awarded the French Legion of Honour by Colonel Roger Vandomm. The smile of appreciation on the Colonel’s face told the story.
“This distinction, the highest national order of France, illustrates the profound gratitude France would like to express to you in recognition of your personal involvement of the liberation of our country during World War II.”
Bill kept his eyes closed for much of the presentation – no doubt recalling the roar of those guns and the huge risk he was under.
While the guns were blazing three torpedoes sped past the battleship – two on one side, one on the other.
Bill stayed in the Navy after the war and left in 1953 after fifteen years of service.
His skills were quickly put to use as he worked for the next sixteen years in the development, installation and acceptance testing of guns and missile controls.
While on a vacation to Canada he found a job working on the “Sea Sparrow” missile control systems for the Canadian DDH280 destroyers.
Bill moved from working on ships to becoming part of the team that established sites, did equipment installation, commissioning and acceptance trials for the Anik geostationary satellite TV receive and telephone transreceiver stations in the far north and the Maritimes.
In 1977Bill joined the Canadian Department of Communications doing sub contract work for the Hermes satellite operations group,
In 1986 he was part of the Canadian Astronautics organization that designed and assembled high gain extendable array antennas.
After overseeing the construction of three satellite receiving stations in Goose Bay, Labrador, Churchill and Edmonton Bill returned to retirement.
He spent several years travelling and then spent eight years in a French Canadian farming village.
He moved to Burlington in 2008 to be nearer his only Canadian relative.
Bill McConnell, speaking to an audience after being made a Knight of the French Legion of Honour. He was aboard HMCS Haida in Hamilton. Burlington MP Karina Gould and Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring took part in th ceremony.
As a 93 year old Royal Navy retired Chief Petty Officer, William Basil McConnell climbed the steps of the gangway to board HMCS Haida where he was made a Knight of the French Legion of Honour.
A long way from his experience as an 11 years old Electrical Artificer.
They are going down like ten pins at a bowling alley.
The bottom three teams in the Inter County Baseball League may not win as much as a single game in the quarter finals the way the games are going so far.
The Barrie Baycats inched closer to the second round of playoffs with a 14-4 win over the Burlington Bandits at home Sunday night.
Barrie leads the best-of-seven quarter-final 3-0.
Jeff Cowan had four of the Baycats’ 17 hits and also drove in a run and scored four times. Glenn Jackson had three hits, four RBI and two runs, Branfy Infante singled, doubled and drove in two while scoring twice, Ryan Spataro singled and tripled and had four RBI, Jordan Castaldo had two hits and two runs, Kyle DeGrace had an RBI, and Conner Morro had a single, RBI and run.
Adam Rowe (1-0) threw six shutout innings and scattered five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.
For Burlington, Matt McCue had two RBI, and Robert Tavone drove in a run. Justin Gideon singled three times and scored once, and Nolan Pettipiece had two hits and a run.
Christian Hauck (0-1) went five innings and allowed eight runs (three earned) on 10 hits with two walks and no strikeouts.
In London the Majors moved one win from the semifinal after an 8-5 victory over the Guelph Royals Sunday afternoon.
London leads the best-of-seven quarter-final 3-0 and can wrap up the series on the road Tuesday.
Byron Reichstein had three of the Majors’ nine hits and drove in three runs while scoring once. Cleveland Brownlee had two RBI, Carloa Arteaga drove in a run and scored once, and Keith Kandel and Humberto Ruiz each had a hit and two runs.
Owen Boon (1-0) went five innings for the win, giving up two runs on seven hits, striking out four and walking two.
Ben Runyon picked up the last seven outs for the save, giving up two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.
Matt Schmidt and Keegan Marsden each had two run home runs for the Royals. Marsden added an RBI single. Chandler McLaren singled four times and scored once, and Aaron Loder picked up a pair of hits.
Daniel Marquez (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits over 5.2 innings, walking six and striking out one.
In Toronto, Brandon Dailey hit three home runs and drove in four to lead the Brantford Red Sox past the Toronto Maple Leafs Sunday afternoon.
Dailey homered to lead off the third inning and added a solo home run in the seventh and a two-run shot in the eighth as the Red Sox won 16-6 to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven quarter-final.
Ricky Murray singled, homered and drove in three, while Benjamin Bostick doubled, tripled and had four RBI and two runs. Chris Dennis drove in a pair of runs, Jeff Hunt added three hits, two RBI and two runs, Tyler Patzalek singled twice and had an RBI and run, Josh McCurdy had two hits and one run, and Nic Burdett singled, doubled and scored three times.
Jonathan Joseph went five innings for the win, allowing five runs on eight hits. Joseph struck out eight without issuing a walk.
Jonathan Solazzo had a two-run home run to pace the Leafs’ offence. Jon Waltenbury picked up three hits, two RBI and a run, Justin Marra singled, doubled and drove in two, Sean Mattson had three hits and a run, and Brendan Keys singled, doubled and scored once.
Marek Deska (0-1) lasted 3.2 innings and gave up six runs on eight hits with a strikeout.
While in Kitchener the Panthers beat the Hamilton Cardinals as Tanner Nivins continued his torrid start to the playoffs, hitting two home runs to lead the Kitchener Panthers to a 17-7 win over the Hamilton Cardinals Sunday night.
Kitchener leads the best-of-seven quarter-final 3-0.
Both of Nivins’ home runs were solo shots, and he now has four in three games. The Panthers leadoff hitter added a single to bump his average to .615 and also scored four runs. Mike Gordner had four singles, five RBI and a run, David Whiteside singled, doubled, scored three times and drove in two, Terrell Alliman had three hits, an RBI and run, Frank Camilo Morejon went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs, and Luke Baker had an RBI and scored once.
Matt McGovern (1-0) went five innings for the win, giving up six runs on five hits, striking out three and walking two.
For Hamilton, Liam Wilson, TJ Baker and Callum Murphy all homered. Wilson finished with three hits, two RBI and two runs, Baker’s blast was a three-run shot, and Murphy’s home run was solo. Dre Celestijn had two hits and two runs.
Rhys Tapper (0-1) took the loss, allowing eight runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings. Tapper walked six and didn’t record a strikeout.
2016 IBL quarter-finals
Series A (1) London Majors vs (8) Guelph Royals London leads series 3-0 Game 1: London 9, Guelph 4 Game 2: London 10, Guelph 0 Game 3: London 8, Guelph 5 Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at London; 7:35 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at London; 7:35 p.m.
Series B (2) Kitchener Panthers vs. (7) Hamilton Cardinals Kitchener leads series 3-0 Game 1: Kitchener 12, Hamilton 6 Game 2: Kitchener 6, Hamilton 2 Game 3: Kitchener 17, Hamilton 7 Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Kitchener; 7:30 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Kitchener; 7 p.m.
Series C (3) Barrie Baycats vs. (6) Burlington Bandits Barrie leads series 3-0 Game 1: Barrie 6, Burlington 1 Game 2: Barrie 7, Burlington 3 Game 3: Barrie 14, Burlington 4 Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m.
Series D (4) Brantford Red Sox vs. (5) Toronto Maple Leafs Brantford leads series 2-1 Game 1: Brantford 9, Toronto 8 (10 innings) Game 2: Toronto 6, Hamilton 5 Game 3: Brantford 16, Toronto 6 Game 4: Wednesday, Aug. 10 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 5: Friday, Aug. 12 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 6: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Toronto; TBD *Game 7: Sunday, Aug. 14 at Brantford; 8 p.m.
The guy gets the Prime Minister of the country to say nice things about him – on tape – it was almost an endorsement – and he isn’t even a Liberal? All true – check the video
Queen Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Colonel-in-Chief of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, receives Colonel Ronald Foxcroft (Honorary Colonel) at Buckingham Palace.
Ron Foxcroft almost had the Queen blowing one of his whistles when he was presented to her.
Astronaut Clayton Anderson who took a Foxcroft whistle into space poses with the inventor of the thing.
He gets the highest award available for sports officiating – The Golden Whistle and then gets his picture taken with the astronaut who took one of the things into space.
Ron Foxcroft with wife Marie and the Golden Whistle
He gets his picture taken with the woman who played basketball better than he ever did – made a smart move and married the woman.
The Foxcroft men – what a blood line.
Then he poses with his sons and grandsons – can you see another Ron in that bunch?
The three teams at the bottom of the IBL regular season appear to be repeating their performance. All three were soundly defeated in the quarter finals games played so far.
Inter County Baseball League quarter final standings as of August 6, 2106
Matthew St. Kitts was dominant as the Barrie Baycats beat the Burlington Bandits 7-3 Saturday night to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven quarter-final.
St. Kitts (1-0) went seven innings and scattered four hits, allowing two runs while walking one and striking out eight.
Kyle Nichols homered, doubled and drove in five to lead the Baycats offence. Kevin Atkinson doubled and scored twice with an RBI, and Kyle DeGrace added a double and RBI.
Robert Tavone had both Bandits RBI. Grant Okawa added a double.
Jack Dennis (0-1) went 5.2 innings and gave up seven runs (six earned) on six hits, walking seven and striking out four.
In Hamilton the Kitchener Panthers took a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven quarter-final against Hamilton with a 6-2 road win Saturday night.
Tanner Nivins and Mike Glinka each hit solo home runs as the second-place Panthers never trailed. Nivins added a single and had two RBI, while Glinka also walked and scored. Terrell Alliman added an RBI, David Whiteside singled twice, and Sean Reilly scored twice.
Noelvis Entenza (1-0) went seven innings for the win, giving up a run on four hits, striking out seven and walking one.
IBL batting champion Dre Celestijn singled and had a solo home run for the seventh-place Cardinals.
On the mound, Robert Wilson (0-1) took the loss after allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits in 6.2 innings. Wilson walked five and struck out two.
In Guelph the London Majors scored early and often in a 10-0 win over the Guelph Royals Saturday night.
London, which finished first in the regular season, broke open a scoreless game with five runs in the second inning and scored at least once in five different innings.
The Majors lead the best-of-seven quarter-final 2-0.
RJ Fuhr and Carlos Arteaga each had two hits and two RBI. Leadoff hitter Fuhr scored once, and Arteaga, batting eighth, scored twice. Keith Kandel added two hits, two runs and an RBI. Michael Ambrose, Cleveland Brownlee and Byron Reichstein all had a hit and RBI.
Oscar Perez (1-0) struck out nine over six shutout innings, scattering four hits and a walk.
For Guelph, Santino Silvestri and Chandler McLaren each had two hits.
Marc-Andre Major (0-1) lasted 1.1 innings and gave up two runs on one it, walking three and striking out two.
2016 IBL quarter-finals
Series A (1) London Majors vs (8) Guelph Royals London leads series 2-0 Game 1: London 9, Guelph 4 Game 2: London 10, Guelph 0 Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at London; 1:05 p.m. Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at London; 7:35 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at London; 7:35 p.m.
Series B (2) Kitchener Panthers vs. (7) Hamilton Cardinals Kitchener leads series 2-0 Game 1: Kitchener 12, Hamilton 6 Game 2: Kitchener 6, Hamilton 2 Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at Kitchener; 7 p.m. Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Kitchener; 7:30 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Kitchener; 7 p.m.
Series C (3) Barrie Baycats vs. (6) Burlington Bandits Barrie leads series 2-0 Game 1: Barrie 6, Burlington 1 Game 2: Barrie 7, Burlington 3 Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at Barrie; 7 p.m. Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m.
Series D (4) Brantford Red Sox vs. (5) TorontoMaple Leafs Series tied 1-1 Game 1: Brantford 9, Toronto 8 (10 innings) Game 2: Toronto 6, Hamilton 5 Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at Toronto; 2 p.m. Game 4: Wednesday, Aug. 10 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 5: Friday, Aug. 12 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 6: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Toronto; TBD *Game 7: Sunday, Aug. 14 at Brantford; 8 p.m.
The woman who badgered a Cabinet Minister to ensure that Burlington residents had access to ODRAP – Ontario Disaster Relief funds – announced Friday that Ontario is investing $237,000 in a pilot project that will help Burlington homeowners reduce the risk of basement flooding from severe weather events associated with climate change.
Eleanor McMahon was a backbencher MPP when the flood hit the city in 2014; today she is a member of the provincial Cabinet responsible for Tourism, Culture and Sport
Burlington’s MPP, Cabinet Minister Eleanor McMahon announcing the Home Adaptation Assessment Program program.
In her announcement McMahon said: “Ontario’s people and businesses are already feeling the effects of climate change. It has damaged the environment and has caused extreme weather events such as flooding, which can damage basements and homes and increase insurance rates.
“After experiencing substantial residential flooding in August 2014, Burlington was selected as the ideal location to run the first large-scale basement-flood risk reduction program. Developed by the University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, the Home Adaptation Assessment Program will:
Assess the vulnerability of 4,000 Burlington-area homes to flood damage Make recommendations to help homeowners avoid costly damage from extreme weather Collect the data needed to inform potential expansion of the program to communities across the province.
This kind of flooding hit both the residential and the commercial community.
Lessons learned from the pilot program in Burlington will inform a broader roll-out of the program across Ontario. The joint pilot is between the provincial government, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, City of Burlington and participating homeowners who will be asked to pay a small fee for the inspection work done on their homes.
City Council has approved contributing an additional $50,000 the first year with opportunities to reassess in 2017.
The program, Home Adaptation Assessment Program (HAAP) will announce the names of the designated neighbourhoods and registration details this fall.
Basements throughout the city were cleared of wet soggy warped property and sent to the dump.
The media release added that: “Over the past decade, an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme rainfall events, aging municipal infrastructure and inadequate flood protection measures at the household level have all contributed to significant increases is basement flood damage costs across Canada. More specifically, property and casualty insurance claims have more than doubled in the past decade, with basement flooding being a central cause.”
That statement makes it sound as if the home owners were the ones to blame for problems with down spouts and letting the natural swales between houses build up.
A large part of the problem was with storm sewers that could not handle the huge and sudden flow of water. Home owners just did not know what they were supposed to do. The fire department puts out a regular flow of fire safety information – the same needed to be done about climate change.
The city knows now of a number of homes that cannot remain where they are in a specific flood plain; the information is in a city report but those specific home owners have not been informed.
The Home Adaptation Assessment Program (HAAP) is a basement-flood risk-reduction program. The program integrates international best practices for household flood prevention with input from homeowners and municipal engineers.
One-on-one support is available to individual households through a Home Adaptation Assessment. For a small fee, a trained HAAP assessor will take homeowners through a 50-point examination of potential water entry into the home and help develop a prioritized action plan to reduce risk. A customer help-line, follow-up surveys and seasonal maintenance reminders provide additional support to homeowners. HAAP’s approach is developed in consultation with local government, conservation authorities and community groups, ensuring that HAAP enhances and is complementary to existing flood-risk-mitigation programs.
Dumpster bins were in the driveways of hundreds of home in the city in August of 2014
The first large-scale phase of the development of HAAP will be carried out in Burlington where 4,000 home assessments in designated neighbourhoods will be completed by the end of 2017, with the first 500 to be completed in this year. These will be carefully selected to be representative of neighbourhoods across Ontario (based on home size and age, age and type of municipal infrastructure and past experience with flood risk). Lessons learned from HAAP delivery in Burlington will inform a broader roll-out of the program across Ontario.
The 2014 flood played no favourites. Both the Mayor and the federal member of parliament at the time had their basements flooded.
Most of us experience reasonably good health – but we all know someone whose health is not good. We hope for the best for them.
When I was a boy, just after the war (the Second World War) polio was the scourge. Dr Jonas Salk had not come up with his polio vaccine yet. Wheel chairs, braces, iron lungs were part of the news stories before the vaccine was discovered.
My Mom was a cook at a YMCA camp; she took me and my brother and sister with her every summer.
In the summer of 1946 I became ill and a smart former army nurse said: This boy just might have contracted polio. She was a tough lady and insisted that I be driven to the local train station where they stopped a freight train with fresh fruit on it and got me into Montreal where I was transferred to the Montreal Children’s Hospital where a spinal tap was done.
I can still hear myself screaming away when the stuck that needle in me. But it worked – the doctors knew what they were doing because research was being done on polio and I benefited from that research.
I was days away from becoming a cripple that would have either a brace on my legs or have to live out of a wheel chair. I still shudder when I am near a person who has to wear a brace and I hear it snap into place.
It was medical research that kept me out of a wheel chair. I have a little difficulty touching my toes but other than that I am reasonably well; at one point was a long distance runner.
Medical research matters – and now those of us who live in Burlington are going to be given a chance to support cancer research.
The man who will entertain us on the 20th of August is dying of an incurable brain cancer. He will be on the stage giving it everything he has.
Gord Downie, lead singer of the Tragically Hip, giving it everything he has. The Hips final concert on their Farewell Tour that will take place in Kingston is to be simulcast to the stage set up in Spencer Smith Park
We have an opportunity to give as well.
Go without something and put as much as you can into one of the two opportunities that have been set up.
This city raised just shy of $1 million two years ago for flood victims. The needed 100 days to make that happen. We have about 15 days – we can raise a lot of money in that time frame.
Don’t let Gord Downie down.
The huge screens will be set up on a stage immediately to the west of the Naval memorial – the event starts at 8:30 – this is a rain or shine evening – bring a blanket or a chair. There will not be any alcohol available at this event nor will there be any sponsorship announcements.
Just the best the Tragically Hip has always done – being broadcast across the nation.
To donate to the Canadian Cancer Society (Halton Chapter) click HERE or visit https://bit.ly/2azm5AN
To donate to the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation click HEREor visit https://bit.ly/2auf6Yc
A pensive Gord Downie will entertain tens of thousands in a CBC broadcast of the final concert of the Farewell tour on August 20th.
If you want to keep up to the second on how the arrangements for the concert on the 20th are rolling out follow the #HipatSpencerSmith
The bats of the Burlington Bandits were quiet Friday night
In London the Majors took the Guelph Royals in a 9-4 win.
Elis Jimenez struck out nine in seven innings to lead the first-place London Majors to a 9-4 win over the Guelph Royals in Game 1 of their best-of-seven quarter-final Friday night.
Jimenez (1-0) allowed three runs on seven hits and walked one.
At the plate, Chris McQueen had two hits, two RBI and three runs. RJ Fuhr singled, doubled and had an RBI and run, Byron Reichstein singled twice and drove in two, Michael Ambrose drilled a solo home run, Carlos Arteaga and Cleveland Brownlee each had an RBI, while LeJon Baker and Keith Kandel had two hits and a run apiece.
Eight of nine batters had at least one hit.
For eighth-place Guelph, Santino Silvestri, Matt Schmidt and Trevor Nyp all had a single and RBI. Patrick Coughlin drove in a run, and Aaron Loder added two hits and a run.
Alberto Rodriguez (0-1) took the loss, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits in 4.2 innings, walking three and striking out three.
2016 IBL quarter-finals Series A (1) London Majors vs (8) Guelph Royals London leads series 1-0 Game 1: London 9, Guelph 4 Game 2: Saturday, Aug. 6 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at London; 1:05 p.m. Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at London; 7:35 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at London; 7:35 p.m.
Series B (2) Kitchener Panthers vs. (7) Hamilton Cardinals
Kitchener leads series 1-0
Game 1: Kitchener 12, Hamilton 6 Game 2: Saturday, Aug. 6 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at Kitchener; 7 p.m. Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Kitchener; 7:30 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Kitchener; 7 p.m.
Series C (3) Barrie Baycats vs. (6)Burlington Bandits
Barrie leads series 1-0
Game 1: Barrie 6, Burlington 1 Game 2: Saturday, Aug. 6 at Burlington; 7:05 p.m. Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at Barrie; 7 p.m. Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m.
Series D (4) Brantford Red Sox vs. (5) Toronto Maple Leafs Series tied 1-1
Game 1: Brantford 9, Toronto 8 (10 innings) Game 2: Toronto 6, Hamilton 5 Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at Toronto; 2 p.m. Game 4: Wednesday, Aug. 10 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 5: Friday, Aug. 12 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 6: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Toronto; TBD *Game 7: Sunday, Aug. 14 at Brantford; 8 p.m.
The Air Park has taken on a legal life of its own that just may see Court cases that make their way to the Supreme Court of Canada – the issue is that significant to the municipal sector.
The judiciary and economic development are tied together, not always in the nicest or the most comfortable manner. One tends to bump into the other when interpretations of a bylaw or a regulation is needed. That bumping into each other has kept the city’s legal department busy
Trucks dumped tonnes of land fill on the air park site without having a site alteration plan approved by the city.
There are people in Burlington who see very significant merit in their being a small well run airport in the rural part of the city.
Fill from the Air Park tumbles down a slope and rests against the property line fence of the Cousin’s farm on Appleby Line. Water run off has flooded parts of the farm.
Most of the residents in north Burlington don’t have a problem with the air park – they do have a problem with what the owner of the property wants to do with the almost 200 acres of land that had 500,000 tonnes of land fill dumped on it without permission or acceptable testing by the municipal government.
Business people, especially those in the development field, understand what they call the long game – find property that will increase in value and has significant development potential and invest in it. Developers look for that patient money; the site one which the Bridgewater condominiums are being built first came to the public eye when Mayrose Tyco assembled that land in 1985.
The air park has been around for a long time; for the past decade or more it has been a contentious operation. The owner has brought a unique business style to how he has chosen to develop the opportunity he feels the site has and in the process has alienated his neighbours and run afoul of the city and to a lesser degree the Regional government.
The development game has changed; it is a lot more collaborative and developers are learning that municipalities have strengths they have not utilized in the past.
And Burlington is beginning to realize that citizen groups do not have to be just reactive to things they do not like but can be proactive and advocate for levels of change.
In Burlington the Sustainability Advisory Committee has real clout and influence; Heritage issues were basically outsourced to the Heritage Advisory Committee who put together a program that council liked. When the outline of that program was first revealed city council came close to giving the advisory committee a standing ovation.
There is room and opportunity now for responsible citizens groups to do their homework and take well researched proposals to city council.
While it will be a bit of a challenge for this city council, the time is ripe for city councils to listen more closely to some of the ideas that are brought forward.
There are also new and more collaboratively minded city staff who are capable of listening to the people who provide the money to meet the payroll.
Municipalities are at that talking the talk when the mention transparency – citizens have chosen to believe what they said and now expect those people to walk their talk. Done properly it comes out as responsible government – on of the corner stones this province was built on.
All the key players in the Airpark dispute:
The time is not right yet to expect the kind of leadership that is needed from the elected officials; too much dead wood on the current Burlington council. But it is time and the opportunity is there for the private sector that is much more responsible than the development community has been in the past to quietly develop ideas and opportunities to advance potential
Getting any air park development in rural Burlington from economic developers is going to require more than just an initiative from the economic developers and consistent nudging from the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
The city itself has to realize the potential and want to see that potential grown and the people in rural Burlington are going to have to be a significant part of that process.
During a council chamber foyer conversation, city manager Jeff Fielding made it very clear to Glenn Grenier, second from the left that the city did not share his view that the Air Park did not have to comply with city bylaws. Grenier had positioned himself as a leading expert in aeronautical law and that the city should respect their rights. The city didn’t believe the Air Park actually had the rights they said they have; that view was upheld by both a Superior |Court judge and an Appeal Court decision. The city’s legal counsel stand to the right.
A very small percentage of the people in Burlington are fully aware of the current air park issue and the legal battle that has been going on for more than five years. The upside to that battle is that it hasn’t cost the city all that much – their legal counsel keeps winning the court cases and getting costs on a rather financially attractive basis. It isn’t a profit centre but it is a nice way to do business.
When the rural community became aware of what at was going on they did what every community does; they formed an organization – the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition, which itself is a collection of citizen interest groups – and delegated to city hall – very effectively. Monte Dennis had years of experience battling the development of the once planned airport at Pickering; he was part of that crew that did everything possible to prevent the destruction of a community when the province expropriated hundreds of acres of land for an airport development in Pickering. That was 40 years ago – the houses and community are gone – but there is no airport in Pickering.
Vanessa Warren delegated to city council on the landfill work being done at the Air Park and the impact it will have on her property – and the larger community as well.
Monte Dennis delegating before city council.
If it wasn’t Dennis delegating for the RBGC at city hall or the Region, it would be Vanessa Warren who was always exceptionally well prepared: she tended to know more than anyone else in the room.
Despite the talent within the RBGC they have yet to capture the public imagination. A large part of that is their all but total reliance on social media to get their message out.
Social media has its place but it isn’t the silver bullet that always delivers.
Going forward one can hope that the RBGC people can learn to partner or at least collaborate with the better parts of the economic development community and make the best possible use of the air park property for both the land owner and the wider community without any development distorting or damaging the community.
Few in rural Burlington have a problem with a small private aircraft air park- many very close to the air park kind of like the sound of the light air craft landing and taking off.
Vince Rossi, believed to be the sole owner of the Air Park.
There are opportunities for some “good jobs” economic development at the air park. Small engine maintenance – even possibly some mid-size aircraft maintenance. Properly managed the air park could handle much more small craft traffic.
RBGC needs to be before city council regularly, prodding and poking and providing the visionary leadership that is badly needed. They certainly have the talent and if they are consistent they should over time bring about the shift that is needed.
One wonders where the Regional government is in all this. There are dozens of municipalities that oversee the operation of small airports in their communities. Neither the chair or the region’s administration appear to have much in the way of appetite for an air park in Halton and Burlington’s city council representatives at the Region have never been able to pull together as a single cohesive voice that takes a position and makes it stick.
There is much work to be done.
Could the air park already be in play without the owner even knowing about it?
Full disclosure:Pepper Parr, publisher of the |Gazette, Monte Dennis and Vanessa were sued by the Air Park Inc for libel in 2013. The case has yet to get to trial.
If the heat doesn’t get the best of us – something else will.
We are told that a batch of mosquitoes trapped this week in Burlington have tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV).
This is the first WNV positive batch of mosquitoes collected from the city. An additional five batches of WNV positive mosquitoes were collected in Oakville. This year in Halton, there have been seven WNV positive mosquito batches to date.
“Halton is committed to being safe and healthy and reducing West Nile virus in our communities through both education and preventative programs like larviciding,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health. “Until the hard frosts of fall set in, Halton residents should continue to protect themselves against mosquito bites and remove mosquito breeding sites.”
Urban areas are more likely to have mosquitoes that carry WNV. The types of mosquitoes that transmit WNV to humans most commonly breed in urban areas in places that hold water such as bird baths, plant pots, old toys, and tires.
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, where possible. Change the water in bird baths at least once per week. • Use an approved insect repellent, such as one containing DEET or Icaridin. • Make sure your window and door screens are tight and without holes, cuts or other openings.
A map showing the locations of standing water sites that have had larvicide applied this year is available at halton.ca/wnv.
To report standing water at public facilities or for more information about West Nile virus, please visit halton.ca/wnv, dial 311or e-mail wnv@halton.ca.
Might be a little early to make solid plans – but you could pencil this one in as a possible – the city is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Children’s Festival on Sunday, August 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Spencer Smith Park.
As they get a little older – they are ready for bigger challenges. This group works there way through a children’s obstacle course.
“We are hosting a huge birthday party for children of all ages to help mark this special occasion,” said Chris Glenn, the city’s director of parks and recreation. “This festival is consistently named as one of the Top 100 festivals and events in Ontario and is the perfect opportunity for families to get out, be active and enjoy some time together at Burlington’s beautiful waterfront.”
Presented by Rocca Sisters and Associates, the theme of this year’s festival is a birthday party. Children at the event can enjoy a number of activities and shows on the main stage, presented by Family Jr.:
Kids + water = fun and noise – all part of a day in the park.
• Main stage shows with Interactive DJ, Isabella Hoops, Mega Magic and Mystic Drumz • Meet the characters from Paw Patrol and Star Wars from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m • Roaming entertainment with Jungle Jack, Nick’s Juggling Family, CLaroL the CLown and stilt walkers • Face painting and balloon animals • Crafts • Inflatables • Kids’ marketplace • Play zones
Admission to this accessible event is free. Consider walking or riding a bike to the festival.
Our political correspondent, Ray Rivers, is working up a pair of articles on the United States presidential race and comparing the situation down there with how our democracy is working in Canada.
When Rivers writes, as publisher he and I trade notes and thoughts on the direction his thinking is taking. My role is to support the writer. As I was reading through my own sources I came across a book On Bullshit, by Harry G. Frankfurt, a professor of philosophy emeritus at Princeton University and recognized as one of the world’s most influential moral philosophers
Here is what he has to say on that subject:
“One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern. We have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, as Harry Frankfurt writes, “we have no theory.”
Fareed Zakaria, writing in the Washington Post said: “Frankfurt, one of the world’s most influential moral philosophers, attempts to build such a theory here. With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, Frankfurt proceeds by exploring how bullshit and the related concept of humbug are distinct from lying. He argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves to their audience not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims about what is true. In fact, bullshit need not be untrue at all.
“Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Frankfurt concludes that although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the practitioner’s capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this, Frankfurt writes, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.”
This viewpoint and the role bullshit plays in our political lives at every level is not limited to the United States.
The book was a New York Times #1 Best Seller. No bullshit!
The Burlington Bandits lost the first game of a seven game quarter finals series. The Barrie Baycats took the game 6-1.
Jeff Cowan singled and drove in three for Barrie, which leads the best-of-seven quarter-final 1-0. Kyle DeGrace doubled, scored once and had an RBI, Jordan Castaldo had two hits and scored twice, and Steve Lewis added an RBI.
Emilis Guerrero (1-0) went eight innings for the win, allowing one run on five hits, striking out three and walking one.
Nolan Pettipiece had a sacrifice fly for the Bandits and picked up one of five hits. Robert Tavone singled and scored.
Ryan Beckett (0-1) went 6.2 innings and allowed five runs on five hits, walking five and striking out two.
In Kitchener the Panthers won over the Hamilton Cardinals in that first-round playoff series with a 12-6 win Thursday night.
Tanner Nivins, Jonathan Brouse and Sean Reilly all homered in the victory. Nivins added a single, double, two RBI and two runs, and Reilly also doubled and scored twice. Brouse’s home run was solo.
Mike Gordner singled, doubled and drove in two runs, Frank Camilo Morejon had two hits, two runs and an RBI, Justin Interisano singled and scored twice, and Mike Glinka and Mike Andrulis each drove in a run.
Ian Rendon (1-0) went six innings for the win, allowing two runs on six hits, striking out eight and walking four.
For the Cardinals, Chris Beer had two hits, two RBI and two runs. Liam Wilson singled three times and drove in a run, Geoffrey Soto had two hits and an RBI, Tyler Hardie went 3-for-5 with a run, Lake Molleson singled, doubled and had an RBI, and Jake Foden drove in a run.
Chris Lazar (0-1) went 3.2 innings, giving up nine runs (four earned) on nine hits, walking four without striking out a batter.
In Toronto the Leafs turned a dramatic loss in the first game of their series into a 6-5 win over the Brantford Red Sox.
Justin Marra singled home Dan Marra with two out in the bottom of the ninth to give the Leafs a Thursday night and tie the best-of-seven quarter-final at 1-1.
Brantford won the opener Wednesday with a walkoff in the 10th inning and started Game 2 by scoring once in the first and twice in the second for a 3-0 lead. Toronto played catch-up most of the game and finally scored twice to tie it at five in the eighth, setting up the ninth-inning rally that started with nobody on and two outs.
Ryan White singled and hit a solo home run for the Leafs. Justin Marra finished with two hits and two RBI, Dan Marra singled, doubled and scored twice, Jon Waltenbury had three hits and a run, Brendan Keys had two hits and an RBI, and Jonathan Solazzo had an RBI.
Marek Deska (1-0) threw a perfect inning of relief for the win, striking out one. Brett van Pelt started and went seven innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, striking out four and walking two.
Dan Jagdeo had a solo home run and RBI double for the Red Sox. Chris Dennis and Wayne Forman each had a hit and RBI, Nic Burdett singled, doubled and scored twice, and Benjamin Bostick had a double and two runs.
Matt Martinow (0-1) took the loss, allowing a run on three hits in 1.1 innings, walking one. Starter Riley Barr went seven innings and gave up four runs on seven hits, striking out five and walking one.
2016 IBL quarter-finals
Series A London Majors vs Guelph Royals Game 1: Friday, August 5 at London; 7:35 p.m. Game 2: Saturday, August 6 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. Game 3: Sunday, August 7 at London; 1:05 p.m. Game 4: Tuesday, August 9 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, August 11 at London; 7:35 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, August 12 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, August 13 at London; 7:35 p.m.
Series B Kitchener Panthers vs. Hamilton Cardinals Kitchener leads series 1-0 Game 1: Kitchener 12, Hamilton 6 Game 2: Saturday, Aug. 6 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at Kitchener; 7 p.m. Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Kitchener; 7:30 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Kitchener; 7 p.m.
Series C Barrie Baycats vs. Burlington Bandits Barrie leads series 1-0 Game 1: Barrie 6, Burlington 1 Game 2: Saturday, Aug. 6 at Burlington; 7:05 p.m. Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at Barrie; 7 p.m. Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m. *Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m. *Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m. *Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m.
Series D Brantford Red Sox vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Series tied 1-1 Game 1: Brantford 9, Toronto 8 (10 innings) Game 2: Toronto 6, Hamilton 5 Game 3: Sunday, Aug. 7 at Toronto; 2 p.m. Game 4: Wednesday, Aug. 10 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 5: Friday, Aug. 12 at Brantford; 8 p.m. *Game 6: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Toronto; TBD
By Staff
Adam Odd singled and hit a solo home run for the Bandits. Kevin Hussey doubled and drove in a run, and Canice Ejoh singled twice and scored once.
Things didn’t go as well for the Hamilton Cardinals. The Kitchener Panthers swept the first four games in a seven game quarter final play off and become the first IBL team Cardinals to advance in the IBL playoffs.
2016 IBL quarter-finals
By Staff
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As outgoing president Obama made emphatic, there is no better qualified candidate than Hillary Clinton. And if qualification and experience were all that mattered there would be no contest, and the tired but somewhat boring and compromised Hillary would be the shoo-in victor on election day. After all, she is running against a man with a dubious record in his business ventures and one who has never even run for public office – let alone the highest office in the land, in all his seventy years.
Donald Trump cleaned-up in the Republican nomination race by simply being himself. His victory was more of a fluke than a deliberate strategy. He just plumbed for and echoed the deepest, darkest recesses of the worst of America, and spewed racism, homophobia and insults as no American politician had done before. The more outlandish his comments, the more he gained notoriety and support among disciples who mistook his words of prejudice for plain-speaking. He was/is different and exciting. But what makes him dangerous is his lack of detail – what he actually would do.
The Barrie Baycats inched closer to the second round of playoffs with a 14-4 win over the Burlington Bandits at home Sunday night.
“Halton is committed to being safe and healthy and reducing West Nile virus in our communities through both education and preventative programs like larviciding,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health. “Until the hard frosts of fall set in, Halton residents should continue to protect themselves against mosquito bites and remove mosquito breeding sites.”
When Rivers writes, as publisher he and I trade notes and thoughts on the direction his thinking is taking. My role is to support the writer. As I was reading through my own sources I came across a book On Bullshit, by Harry G. Frankfurt, a professor of philosophy emeritus at Princeton University and recognized as one of the world’s most influential moral philosophers