 August 27, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. The natives are restless. The tom-tom drums are beating. Smoke clouds are being used to spread the message:
There’s a storm coming – a storm of colour and light and sound. August 28, 6:30pm at the Burlington Art Centre. The City is holding a public consultation for the Cultural Action Plan: come and get soaked, was the language used by the newly formed Artists and Cultural Collective that was organized to ensure that the voice of the people who “do” culture was heard.
 Jeremy Freiburger, author of the Cultural Plan for the city has extensive connections within the arts community and is credited with the creation of the Arts Walk in Hamilton. Will his report make it through the city hall bureaucracy? Burlington got the Cultural Plan they commissioned CoBALT Connects to do for the princely sum of $100,000 +. Now they are going out to the public for a response.
The Artists Collective has taken exception to the approach the city has put in place – they argue that there isn’t a real, living breathing artist on the Steering Committee, that is conducting the public consultation. In the past the artists have formed their own small groups and griped or complained about how they were treated. The big dollars and all the energy went into putting up buildings and now we have a Performing Arts Centre that theatre groups can’t afford to use.
 City General Manager Kim Phillips, who now has the cultural file on her desk, will need to pull hard in a number of directions to produce a report that satisfies the artists and can get approved by a city council that isn’t big on the arts in general. Lip service is the order of the day for this city when it comes to culture. The Artists take exception to a situation at city hall, where people with physical education backgrounds in the Parks and Recreation department oversee culture. The artists feel they are neither heard, understood or represented. They want to see a change and have set out five points they maintain are essential in any cultural action plan city hall staff send along to Council.
The artists collective has created a bulletin board their members use to communicate electronically and posted five points for their members to consider and take to the public consultation meetings.
The recommendations from the now 200+ strong organization were developed at a number of Town Hall meetings held during the summer when they identified five top goals for any Cultural Action Plan.
The five recommendations from the Collective are:
1. A distinct Arts & Culture department within the City. We require focused leadership for Arts & Culture from within the City to function effectively. This is primarily a restructuring of existing City elements – grouping Art in Public Places, Festivals And Events, Tourism, Teen Tour Band, Student Theatre together – along with 2 FTEs reporting directly to a General Manager within the City by the end of 2014.
One appointed, the head of the new Department – who should be a qualified and experienced Arts & Culture administrator – would have the initial task is to gather input and research towards point 2:
2. A funded external, arm’s-length Arts Council. This is a tricky and key point to moving forward. It requires a balanced representation of Arts & Culture makers in the City and needs to have clear sustainability plan in place in order to succeed. It’s precise role and model would be based on the research, input, and recommendation of the new Arts & Culture department in partnership with the Arts & Culture Collective.
With grassroots support and an infrastructure developed in partnership with the City, this external arm’s-length Council can effectively optimize the Arts & Culture of Burlington. We would look for this plan to be developed over 2014-2015 and receive approval as a part of the 2015 budget.
These two elements – an internal and external organizations – would end the history of isolation and fracturing that has characterized Arts & Culture in Burlington. This partnership could then advocate and address our remaining top concerns in 2015 and beyond.
3. Grants for Arts & Culture makers in the City. Develop a grant program to support Artists and achieve the City’s economic and cultural goals. In order to make this an innovative city investment in Artists are necessary.
4. Space. Spaces for Arts & Culture activities are too expensive and too few – we need significantly better rates, more space for us to realize our aims.
5. Review the Bylaws and Permits. Existing Bylaw and Permit systems are making Arts & Culture events and business ventures prohibitive. Better systems will ensure accessibility for private and public developments.
Laudable and certainly debatable – it will be interesting to hear how the city types responds to these.
 Trevor Copp talks with Angela Paparizo during the unveiling of the Spiral Stella at the Performing Arts Centre earlier in the week. Trevor Copp operates a professional theatre company, Tottering Biped Theatre and was the instigator and prime mover of the Collective. When he became aware that the city had deferred a meeting to discuss a Cultural Plan it had been holding for some time he started to organize and rally the arts community to present a unified front.
 Teresa Seaton, a stained glass artist has been a prime mover behind the annual Art in Action tour – and is now part of the newly formed Arts and Culture Collective. Copp argues that the arts have never been given the kind of attention they need and that the focus has been on bricks and mortar. The city currently has one person with training working on the arts file – half time. Copp sees the Collective as a “common place for the artistic voice of Burlington. Musicians, photographers, visual artists, writers, culinary artists… all are welcome! Consider this the “unofficial Arts Council” board of Burlington!”
Teresa Seaton, a stained glass artist and a long time arts advocate wonders aloud when Burlington can take part in the provincially directed Art Days that take place in many communities across Ontario where a 3 day-long, annual collaborative pan-Canadian volunteer movement takes place pulling together all the cultural threads in a community.
 There is some international standard art produced in Burlington – the city is looking for a way to create a Cultural Action Plan to build on the successes. Are the right people in place to do this? Two years ago the Art in Action people, who hold an annual studio tour were told they had to get a license for each of the studio location the public was invited to tour. Artists working out of their homes were lumped in with people going door to door selling aluminum siding or driveway sealing services. The artists felt the city should be encouraging the development of their community rather than seeing them as a source of permit revenue.
The city now has a new Executive Director at the Performing Arts Centre who brings a strong reputation for being able to see the bigger picture and create a sense of community and direction for the arts. In Kingston where he last served, Brian McCurdy was referred to as the cultural guru; that is certainly something Burlington could use. The city has never had a clear sense as to what it is culturally. It seemed to feel that once the Performing Arts Centre was built the job was done – the artists have organized themselves to tell the city that art and culture is not about buildings – it is about people expressing themselves through different art forms – not something that comes easily to a city that grew out of farm land that produced apples, pears and peppers.
Burlington has been the soil from which very significant groups have emerged – but they left town just as soon as they had strong enough legs to get to the GO station. From time to time they come back and entertain us. Copp would like to change that and hopes he can be part of a movement that makes it possible for artists to earn a living here – now.
For its part city hall wants to now create a Cultural Action Plan that it can take to Council. Staff wants to produce a document that includes a vision, leadership, communication, cultural nodes, local investment, including support for individual artists and emerging organizations and events along with some way to measure the results of the city’s efforts.
What bothers the artists is that the people heading up the public consultations are not artists – they are bureaucrats who, the Artists Collective don’t feel understand how art works and what it needs to be grown.
The city has organized two public meetings; one at the Burlington Art Centre this evening and a second meeting at Tansley Woods on Thursday, September 12, Community Rooms 2 and 3.
These are going to be interesting meetings.
The results will go to a Council meeting in October – at a time when council members are beginning to hunker down for the municipal election in 2014. This Council couldn’t agree on creating bike lanes on Lakeshore Road and wasn’t able to get a private tree bylaw in place because they felt it offended too many people.
If they couldn’t muster the courage to save the trees – is there hope for the artists?
 August 27, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. They waited years for this – seventy years to be exact but earlier this week the Canadian government formally recognized the members of Canada’s World War II bomber command by issuing a clasp that would be attached to the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal.
 Awarded to all those who served as volunteers during World War II. Members of Bomber Command who are still alive will now get a clasp to go with the medal. The Canadian Volunteer Service Medal was awarded to every person of any rank in the Naval, Military or Air Forces of Canada who voluntarily served on Active Service and honourably completed eighteen months (540 days) total voluntary service from September 3, 1939 to March 1, 1947.
Of about 50,000 Canadians who served in bomber crews during the war, nearly 11,000 died.
 Henry James Hewitt of Oshawa was one of the GTA resident who was honoured last week. Burlington veterans will be awarded their medals in due course. These men were just beyond being boys. They flew missions that were dangerous and far too many of them didn’t return. Earlier this week far too many of them were no longer alive and able to accept the recognition they deserved.
We celebrate the Battle of the Atlantic Sunday because Canada was such a vital part of that part of the fight. It was our frigates that assembled in the Bedford basin part of Halifax harbour and prepared to begin the treacherous journey across the Atlantic knowing full well that submarines lurked below the surface of those tossing seas.
 A Lancaster bomber during a run – those black marks are not clouds – they are anti-aircraft shells exploding. The men who flew the Lancaster bombers out over Germany time after time dropping bay loads of bombs on cities that were railheads for the movement of trains and troops and munitions, each time flying into a hail of anti-aircraft fire that brought down hundreds of our aircraft.
 They were so young, so willing – we lost far too many of them. The crews of those bombers were tightly knit groups who never knew when they lifted off if they were going to return to touch down.
The clasp given to these men, people from the Greater Toronto area were the first to be recognized, will be added to the medals they already have. But this little bit of medal will mean so much more to those who were part of bomber command. It was a recognition that was long past due and hopefully the Ministry of Veterans Affairs will make that special effort to ensure that every living member is found and given their clasp and that the families of those who are not with us any more are also found and given the clasp.
 August 25, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. And there it was. Burlington’s first piece of public art that was the result of a joint private benefactor, public funds sculpture sitting outside the two-year old Performing Arts Centre.
The art was the result of an idea Burlington businessman Dan Lawrie had that led to a conversation with former Centre Executive Director Brenda Heatherington, about a sculpture for the Centre. The idea worked its way to city council where they agreed to add to the generous financial contribution Lawrie had made.
 And there it was: Burlington’s Spiral Stella unveiled. That brought the city’s Public Art contractor Jeremy Freiburger into the picture. He was tasked to put together a jury to decide what should be installed. A jury was selected and a decision made. Throughout the process the public was involved and the result was a gathering of citizens on a bright sunny day, to unveil the 17 foot sculpture done for the city by New Brunswick based artist Peter Powning.
The jury, made up of Burlington Art Centre president Ian Ross, artist Trevor Copp, Emma Quin, Executive Director of the Ontario Craft Council narrowed the 119 entries down to three finalists and chose Peter Powning’s submission.
 And now the Stela gets its first public close up. Do they like what they see? Will it grow on people? Was it a good idea? The city wanted art that involved the public and that brought out the idea of a “cultural mulch”; a phrase that was as new to Burlington as it was to the artistic community. Cultural Mulch was described as “stories about who we are and where we grow.”
 People gather around to see what has been placed into the sheets of bronze that are attached to the Stela. The word was spread quickly as people photographed and “tweeted” about what they were seeing. That led to a number of sessions where Powning took plaster impressions of various artifacts the public brought in. Powning had no idea what the next person in line was going to give him. Some brought in old keys, other brought in a pair of binoculars that had belonged to their grandfather. Another person brought in a pocket watch fob while yet another brought in a ticket from the opening day of the Centre.
 The Spiral Stela was certainly getting a lot of attention from the unveiling day crowd. What was that piece, and that piece there, where did that come from. The Stela needs a close look and some time to figure out what it’s all about. There were medals and toy trucks – anything the people of Burlington thought described who they were. With the plaster impressions done Powning trucked it all back to his workshop in New Brunswick where bronze castings were made which were then attached to the stainless steel obelisk shaped structure.
The Spiral Stela is now, like the Pier, part of the city and in time the public will come to appreciate what they have outside the Centre. Jeremy Freiburger, who also wrote a Cultural Plan for the city, believes Burlington has begun a change to a more artistically sophisticated city.
Ward 2 Councillor described what had happened very well when she said “the role of public art reflects what a community is” and what is crafted into the sheets of bronze on the Spiral Stela certainly describes the city, rather proudly.
Public art was described by Dan Lawrie as a “manifestation of a community coming together” and is a lot more than a possession but rather “a collection of memories that will get passed from generation to generation. It is a perpetual memory and a permanent landmark.”
The beauty of a piece of art is usually in the eye of the beholder. When good art is made part of the public environment the understanding of what art can do and the impact art has on our daily lives goes through a transition. Some art is accepted immediately while other art is part of controversial conversations for a long time.
Peter Powning spoke later to a small audience at the Art Centre about public art and the impact it has had on his career. Powning earns his living working full-time on commissions which come from the corporate sector but is driven now to a considerable degree by the municipal sector.
 It was Dan Lawrie’s idea and his willingness to put up $37,000+ of his own money that started the process that ended with a piece of public art being unveiled outside the Performing Arts Centre. In 1983 Powning was able to convince a developer to include funding for art in a project budget. One of his early projects was a piece of art in the Market Square in St. John, New Brunswick that Powning said is “still there and holding up very well”.
The value of public art explained Powning is that it gives a community an opportunity to say who they are – to say what a locality’s destiny is. It is a cultural eruption that has value that accrues to a community.
When Powning saw the notice Burlington published for public art submissions and he looked at the site he immediately saw some very interesting potential. When he learned that the city wanted significant intense community participation Powning knew this was a project he could develop and convinced the jury he was the man to do the job.
Powning was one of three finalists out of the 119 artists who responded to the call.
 Rick Burgess, on the left with Mayor Goldring and sculpture benefactor Dan Lawrie look over the newly unveiled piece of public art. Public art explained Powning can be “serene, bold or provocative”. If it results in controversy there is growth in the thinking of a community and as long as it is not too far outside commonly accepted boundaries acceptance takes place.
Powning feels public art helps a community gets away from the “big box” culture that is dominated by a profit or loss report. Buildings are put up for profit where the objective is to keep costs down. Spending thousands of dollars on something that does not have a profit attached to it is a hard sell not only to developers but to the general public as well. If you have been following the comments about spending public money on the Freeman Station you will get a sense of how the public debate plays itself out. Pay particular attention to the comments part of the story.
The evolution of art for the public has grown from bronze statues of Kings and Queens and major public figures, usually military types to the Rebecca outside the Art Centre that is still surrounded by controversy.
 Cultural projects manager Angela Paparizo and Stela selection jury member talk about the next project for the city? Powning points out that public art has moved away from themes and is not tied down to anything specific but is now much more interpretive.
Powning convinced the public art jury to go along with his Stela approach but had no idea what he would be given by the public to work with.
As individual artifacts were put in front of him he had to make the plaster impression but at the same time listen to the story people told and remember what he heard and what he felt as he listened.
All these words and feelings were taken back to New Brunswick where the creative process began. Where should the individual artifacts be placed? Is there a theme that comes out of what he was given? Is there a theme he wants to create? What are the space limitations he has to deal with?
 Were you there? You should have been. People milled about and asked questions and talked about this newest addition to the city’s cultural fabric. “There are no rules for this kind of work – it is pure visual improvisation”, said Powning.. There are breakthroughs as you are doing the work. “You count on those” added Powning who has done a number of Stela’s across the country. One of the more outstanding Stela’s was done in Canmore, Alberta where there was a theme based on eagles that would fly between two mountains at the edge of the city. Eagles became the theme for that Stela and Powning built on it.
Burlington didn’t have a single theme. For once the Burlington bookends of the lake and the Escarpment didn’t take over the dialogue; instead Powning worked from material given to him by the community.
The result is a bronze structure that now stands outside the Centre that is expected to become the hub of a community’s cultural aspirations.
Powning and his wife, a writer, were married when Peter was 19. They had decided they were going to live “off the grid” long before that was an accepted phrase. They were part of the “back to the land” movement, and live in a place where the telephone line doesn’t always work the way most of us expect it to work. They have enough in the way of solar panels on their buildings to supply most of their energy and grow much of the food they need.
Powning will keep in touch with how Burlington reacts to and grows with its Stela. Public art does have to be maintained; you can’t put it up and just leave it there. Burlington’s Spiral Stela is covered with a coating of wax that makes it easier to clean and Powning will probably come back to Burlington to put a new coat of wax on the sculpture in a couple of years.
 Performing Arts Centre board chair Rick Burgess on the left with artist Peter Powning centre, talking to a city staff member. Before getting driven to the airport to return home, Powning asked for some time to get back to his sculpture and take a few pictures – he has been so busy getting it installed and talking about it that he hadn’t had any time to photograph the work.
The public will now begin walking over to the Stela just the way they now walk out onto the pier. In the not too distant future the city hopes to have a web site with many different views of the Stela where people can tag different parts of the bronze pieces.
The art does need some sort of a plaque or notice put in place that explains what the object on the bronze portions are all about – and that’s about the only criticism one can make about the unveiling of the Spiral Stela in front of the Performing Arts Centre on a sunny Sunday morning. We did good.
 August 25, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. It was expected to be a pretty simple task. Get the Spiral Stela from the shipping yard it was stored in down to the Performing Arts Centre and erect it.
 The time had come for Burlington’s Spiral Stela to be moved to its final home – outside the Performing Arts Centre. It wasn’t a mammoth structure. The crane would handle it easily and there was nothing complex about the task. Get it upright and lower it onto the four large bolts that had been installed, tighten up the bolts – and it`s done. Right?
If you remember the installation of the Orchids in November of 2011 on Upper Middle Road you’ll understand that Burlington and art are not quite in total, smooth sync – yet.
 The Spiral Stela, getting ready to stand up and be locked into place – ready for the public to see for the next 100 years. Getting the piece of art off the truck and onto the plaza outside the Centre was the easy part. The crane operator and the artist worked together and eased it to the ground.
The base of the Stela is a ¾ plate of stainless steel with four holes drilled. There is an additional plate of steel that is thinner attached to the top of the base plate. It too had holes drilled into it.
A member of the installation team took a long steel rod and pushed it through the holes in the steel plates to ensure that nothing would block the bolts as the Stela was lowered into the base.
 What do you mean the holes don’t line up? The bolts on the base plate in the foreground are supposed to slide into the holes on the structures base plate. They didn’t. Oops Oops – the rod did not go in – something was blocking the rod. Shades of the Orchids installation on Upper Middle Road when the installation team there discovered that the size of the bolts and the holes they were to slip into were not the same and a mobile crew with some very heavy-duty equipment was called in on very short notice to solve that problem.
Burlington was facing the same problem with the Stela: this time the inner plate had holes that were just a little smaller than the holes on the outer plate.
 Jeremy Freiburger works his cell phone – there has to be someone out there he can reach to solve this problem. How did this happen he wonders? It’s 7:00 am and it isn’t easy to find technical people at that hour – no one is at their shops yet. Jeremy Freiburger, the city’s public art program management contractor began t work his telephone list.
Off went one of the technical team to get a drill bit that would widen the holes. That didn’t work. Freiburger continues to madly work his cell phone – chasing down the people he needs to reach The plan was to have the Stela installed and veiled before the public was up and around.
The Stela was not to be seen by the public until it was officially unveiled on the Sunday afternoon..
More urgent phone calls. The technical team made another trip into Hamilton and came back with some grinding device that was inserted into the holes. Grinding noise, dust all over the place. Was it working?
 Close, close, very close – then the Spiral Stela was in place and could be locked down. Peter Powning put his finger inside the hole – the 1/8th of an inch of lip had been ground away. The installation could continue. The crane lifted the Stela upright, eased it in over the base plate and gently lowered into place – a little jigging and it slipped over the bolts and a much relieved Peter Powning put on the lock nuts and prepared to secure what is known in architectural circles as an obelisk.
 Done – now all they have to do is put the veil in place and Stela is ready for her public unveiling. Now all they had to do was strip away the packing material put the veil over the structure and they would be ready for the unveiling.
The veil was made of material that landscaping people use. Relatively heavy black cloth that Freiburger and his wife stitched at home. “We basted the pieces together so lightly that a decent tug and they would come apart.
Four tales were attached to the veil. Mayor Goldring, Peter Powning, the artist, Dan Lawrie, the benefactor and Chair of the Performing Arts Centre, Rick Burgess would be at the end of each tail to give them a gentle tug.
The public will then see a unique piece of work that has the city and its history stamped all over it.
 August 24, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. The Friends of Freeman Station have confirmed that the historic train station will move from the Burlington Fire Department headquarters to the station’s new location the week of Sept. 9. The station, built in 1906 by the Grand Trunk Railway, will be moved from its perch beside the Fairview Street fire station to corporately-owned land a couple of hundred yards away.
While the distance is short – the move signified, finally, that the station is going to be restored and won’t get torn apart for kindling.
 The Freeman station got moved around a number of times while the city figured out what it wanted to do with the thing. When city council failed to come up with a solution citizens led by Councillors Meed Ward and Lancaster more here. The move is the result of an agreement reached in 2012 between the city, the Friends of Freeman Station and manufacturer Ashland Inc.
“Stations aren’t supposed to move. Trains come and go and stations are supposed to wait for trains to stop,” said James Smith, president of the Friends of Freeman Station. “It looked like time and neglect would be allowed to take their toll on Freeman Station but today we are announcing encouraging news. The train station is moving and will be restored. I encourage people from across Burlington to watch this dramatic and historic move.”
The volunteers of the Friends of Freeman Station have worked since 2011 to save, stabilize, repurpose and find a new home for this piece of Burlington’s history. They have enlisted local companies to help return Freeman Station to its former condition.
“I am impressed and heartened by the work of the dedicated volunteers, supporters and donors who have given so much to preserve and restore Freeman Station,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “This community effort ensures that Freeman Station has a role not only in Burlington’s past but also in its future.”
In May, McCulloch Building Movers installed steel beams under the structure. In June, Murison Restoration began preparing the station for the move. King Paving is getting the new site ready.
In a prepared statement Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward said: “I want to thank all the volunteers who generously gave their time to make this move a reality. Without your efforts, the Freeman Station would have been lost. With this move, restoration work can begin so future residents can enjoy the station and learn about Burlington’s rail history, from delivering produce from our farms, to sending our young people to serve our country in the Great Wars.”
 Steel beams are taken off a truck to be slid underneath the station so that it can be lifted off the ground, eased onto a flatbed and move the couple of hundred yards to its new home – where restoration will begin. Typical fluff statement when the truth is that were it not for Meed Ward and Ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster the station was a goner. These two women refused to let the station get chopped up for fire wood and convinced their colleagues on Council to give the community some time. Councillor Sharman’s behaviour during the debate was close to shameful. And we didn’t see all that much in the way of leadership from the Mayor.
 The deal gets done. City formally signs the agreement with the Friends of Freeman Station to have them take possession of the building and take on the task of restoring the structure. Burlington came perilously close to losing the historic structure. However, after a lot of discussion, loads of bureaucratic back and forth, the Freeman station is about to be taken for another ride. It has experienced several in its more than 100 years of existence.
Early in September the trucks that move buildings will ease the flat-bed beneath the station and ease it down onto the truck and then move it all of 250 yards and settle it into a location where the major renovation will begin. The structure weighs 45 tonnes. It is made of wood and shingles with a brick chimney. It is nearly 1,200 square feet.
 Part 2 of a 5 part series.
August 23, 2013.
By Gordana Liddell
BURLINGTON, ON. Most established towns have a sense of belonging within. When a family moves in, it takes time for them to feel embraced; to feel like they are a part of the neighbourhood. But when an entirely new community is built, it is a struggle both ways to connect the old and the new. The whole city has to adapt to its mere existence, and the struggle to embrace it as a legitimate part of their town is very real. Often the older, more established part of the city isn’t really aware of the “newcomers” – they don’t travel to that part of town. After all, wasn’t it the long-time residents that helped to make the city what it is today?
Alton Village is here. They are loud and they are proud…and they have money. And they have a history they are proud to recognize. Relatively speaking, – it’s not cheap to live in Alton. The majority of the population in this new community is made up of young families. These up and comers have not “up and come” into their wealth. They have worked for it; they are new money. And because they are used to a payoff coming only from hard work, they can also bear the work of what they have to go through by living in a construction zone. Some old Burlingtonians may not have the will or even the pioneering spirit to go through that.
 There was a time when the Village was basically a construction site – the skate park had not been constructed and the community centre wasn’t even a hole in the ground. That was then – this is now. City Hall staffer Cindy Mercanti points out what is going to go where in the new community In older Burlington, the houses are older, the money is older, and sometimes the mentality is older. Often, these are good things. Bigger yards, interesting architecture, beautiful neighbourhoods, and solid traditions. But along with the old, sometimes comes old ways of thinking that are not good for anyone. There is none of that in Alton. And thank God for that. Inclusivity thrives in the village. The area is so much more cosmopolitan in nature, it is a pleasure to see. Kids are lucky to grow up in an area surrounded by this and to grow up not even knowing any different. The rest of Burlington could take a lesson here.
When construction on Alton Village began, it arose beyond Burlington’s previous urban border; extending north of what anyone had considered before to be “town”.
 There is never any question as to where the Village starts – can’t say that for Headon or The Orchard now can you? Mention Alton Village to residents to the south of Highway 5, and quite often the only reaction you’ll get is a confused look and a slight tilt of the head, suggesting disdain. “Where?” will be a frequent response.
Sometimes, though thankfully rarely, the response will be that of a sneer, accompanied with the explanation that “Real Burlington” lies south of Dundas. Seriously? The implication that living in Alton is the equivalent of living on the wrong side of the tracks is ludicrous. People have invested their life savings, and they certainly deserve to feel like a part of the city they moved into.
 Nothing anywhere near something like this in any part of Burlington. Alton has charted new territory in the way neighbourhoods are developed. This set of buildings will house a Recreation Centre, a high school and a public library with a large series of parks right across the road. At one point, any given area was considered “New Burlington”, wasn’t it? Some old timers even have the backward (and very wrong) idea that anything north of New Street is not the “real Burlington”. What an odd thing to think, and an even odder thing to want to be true. If people truly wanted their small towns to stay excruciatingly small, then they should perhaps have chosen to buy their home a touch further away from the Golden Horseshoe…one of the most continuously and densely populated bands of civilization in North America…because, guess what? It’s going to grow.
Perhaps because these cynics are afraid (ashamed) of their inability to think ahead, they must instead redirect their fear (anger) and focus on the originally established town line instead. Isn’t this kind of thinking sort of…provincial? Can we not liken Alton to a family that grows in size? Are the original members the best? Or the only “real” family members? A city is like a growing family is it not? If it does not feel like one, well…it should.
This phenomenon is not unique to Burlington. Ask any Miltonian and they can easily pinpoint the boundaries and differences between “New Milton” and “Old Milton”. Probe a little further and some residents of the latter group will undoubtedly use the term “Real Milton”.
 Everything about Alton Village was going to be different. City council talked about modern, artistic looking bus shelters – how would this idea have fit into the community? The expansion of a city always comes with growing pains. But there is no need for division. We should all relish the fact that when our city grows, there is more for all of us to see and do. Consider the influx of tax money, (Alton is no stranger to the Burlington tax scale), and the jobs created by the construction, the plazas, and not to mention what’s yet to come on Palladium Way. The facilities and parks in Alton are shiny and new and are for everyone in Burlington to use.
You’d think that the problem might be that we all get a little shy and apprehensive with the new and the unknown. But I don’t think it is. Altonites are not the shy new guys. They are worldly, educated, and, unlike many original Burlington residents, have moved before and are accustomed to change. There is a boldness about these residents. They are tough and wise. They have a pioneering spirit, embrace newness and bring a fresh energy to the city. It’s the rest of Burlington that needs to get accustomed to Alton, not the other way around.
Alton Village wasn’t much of a force in the 2010 municipal election; it was a collection of moving trucks but it didn’t take them very long to figure out how things worked and when there were problems with properties along one of the creeks they were quick to learn how to resolve their problem.
 The Village has its own pub with entertainment that you don’t find “downtown” The residents of Alton know how things work. They are experienced; many of them have lived in a new community previous to this one. They know what to expect. They moved into an area where everything was built and planned just for them: the library, schools, gigantic parks, a community centre, stores, pubs and restaurants they can walk to, and soon many residents will be able to walk to work. They are even getting their very own LCBO. Aldershot doesn’t even have one of those…but then, is Aldershot a part of “real Burlington”? I have nothing against Aldershot. Just trying to make a point here.
It takes time for “neighbours to reach a sense of comfort; for the newcomers as well as for the long-time residents.
 A skate board park that is the envy of every part of the city. Burlington didn’t do things like this when they built Headon or The Orchard. Alton Village is getting a lot of goodies The residents of Alton do need time to embrace their new surroundings. Some may not even explore what their own city has to offer, but instead go back to their old stomping ground. They might not go to the Burlington pools or parks in the summer, but trek back to Milton or Mississauga for a dip. Perhaps instead of shopping in their new town, they will go back to the malls that they know; back to the familiar and the comfortable. As soon as we all embrace the fact that urban Burlington now reaches north to the 407, we will begin to become a single city with plenty to offer one another. There is no need for division…we just need to get to know and appreciate one another.
And we can then all work to ensure that the Burlington we all are – stops at the 407-Higway 5 boundary and that the rural lands are a vital part of our city.
Everyone deserves to feel like they belong. Especially when they are at home.
Gordana Liddell is a writer. Her passion is travel. We were able to convince her to travel about the community that first got her to Burlington and to focus on where she and her husband decided to settle.
Liddell has written a five part series on the Alton Village. Part 1
 August 23, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. Shortly after 9 p.m., YESTERDAY, a 31 yr old Waterdown man was operating his 2010 Kawasaki Ninja 600cc motorcycle northbound on Guelph Line, north of the QEW. He had a 31 yr old Burlington woman as a passenger.
For yet to be determined reasons, the motorcyclist lost control as he attempted to make a left turn onto westbound Mountainside Drive. This caused the motorcycle to flip onto its side and eject the riders.
A 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt being driven by a 42yr old Hamilton man made contact with the motorcycle and the rider in the intersection. It is unknown at this time if the Chevrolet contributed to the reason as to why the motorcyclist lost control. The Chevrolet driver was not injured and was released from the scene.
Both the motorcycle rider and his passenger suffered fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene. Due to the fatalities, the Collision Reconstruction Unit (C.R.U.) was called in and took carriage of the investigation.
Guelph Line was closed in both directions for approximately six hours while the C.R.U. conducted their At-Scene investigation.
Police will not be releasing the names of the decedents at this time.
Any witnesses to this collision are asked to contact the C.R.U. at 905.825.4747 ext.5065.
 August 23, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. When any kind of entertainment event takes place, someone has to produce the show.
How these events come into being is often the result of chance meetings. Reg Titian invited Wayne Brown out to Mohawk Raceway to listen to The Drifters. That event was booked by Titian, who is one of a number of agents who does talent search and booking work for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. He is also the Canadian booking agent for The Drifters
 This is the way it was done back then. It was a form of primal and tribal communication – and it worked.  Reg Titian on the left with Connie Smith and Robbie Lane, who will share the MC job chat it up with Scott Robinson, co-chair of the Magic Moment event. Robinson just might wear those trousers to the event. Wowza! Reg began his career in music when he ran a store on James Street in Hamilton. For many years it did quite well. He ran retail for more than 25 years, taught music and was enjoying a good life until 1999 when the bottom fell out of retail and business in Hamilton was abysmal. Titian had to diversify and get into different lines of business because retail wasn’t working anymore.
Entertainment is show business and that was the direction Titian went as he grew into the He did work for the Niagara Falls Casino, has booked Diane Warwick and does a lot of work for the Norwich Fall Fair.
Festivals, country fairs, theatre productions are all part of what Reg Titian does now.
He had booked The Drifters into the Mohawk Raceway and invited Wayne Brown out to hear the show. Wayne went and left that show with an idea. Why not create a Magic Moment in Burlington and tie it into the Halton Heros event that was raising funds for police officers and their families that needed help when misfortune befell them.
Wayne Brown talked to Keith Strong who was heading up the Community Cares Committee of Halton, a group that pulls together citizens from Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills who gather once a year to hold a gala that raises funds for police services members who need help.
 Wayne Brown, along with his co-chair Scott Robinson has stick handled the field work that will make the Magic Moment happen. So when Wayne Brown got back to him with the Magic Moment idea and the Drifters Titian was their man.
Eric Kohanek, a former television journalist with the Spectator knows the Drifter well and explains that “the original Drifters group formed in 1953 and there were dozens of guys who joined up and then left over the years. The group that appears at Mohawk Raceway and other venues in Canada from time to time is actually called “The Drifters Featuring Rick Sheppard.” Sheppard didn’t join the original group until 1966.”
“The original Drifters are actually based in the U.K. and are touring there in September. The other groups calling themselves The Drifters are actually splinter groups, not the original one.
 With many millions of records sold – the Drifters are going to be in town to bring back a lot of those Magic Moments. “Sheppard’s achievements since then are certainly noteworthy. He currently owns the Canadian trademark for the Drifters name and has re-recorded some of the original group’s hits as well as songs that sound similar in nature but have no link to the original group. He also reportedly won a lawsuit recently that prevents any other Drifters groups from performing in Canada.”
It’s an interesting story – all part of the Magic Moment that will take place in Burlington September 13th, at an exclusive Soiree to take place at the Waterfront Hotel.
Saturday evening The Drifters will take their Magic Moment to a much larger audience that will assemble at Nelson Park starting at 2:30 in the afternoon and run on until the last dance.
If you’re close to sixty you will know the music. “On Broadway”, “Under the Boardwalk”, “Save the Last Dance for Me”, “Up On the Roof”, “This Magic Moment”, “There Goes My Baby”, and many more. The songs are etched into the memories of music fans worldwide and helped form part of the foundation of contemporary popular music. What these songs have in common is that they are all the product of a veritable hit-making machine better known to their millions of fans as The Drifters.
Rick Sheppard is an integral part of that hit making machine. He has been there for more than 45 years. Rick joined The Drifters in 1966 and recorded with the group on Atlantic Records through the early 1970s. During that time, he toured with The Drifters throughout the world and shared stages with some of the greatest names in music and show business. You can look it up in books and anthologies chronicling The Drifters history. Rick Sheppard is prominently featured.
Sheppard, a born entertainer, has been at the forefront of the music industry from the time he can remember. He began performing at the age of nine years old and by his teenage years had a number of local television appearances on his resume. His first real professional engagement occurred in Miami, Florida, opening for Sammy Davis, Jr. Right then, young Sheppard knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He wanted to entertain.
The first several years would see Sheppard on the road in a seemingly endless stream of one-night night club performances. During that time, he was in and out of a variety of groups as well. His career seemed to be lacking a real direction, and then came the telephone call that would change his life. Forever.
It seems that a songwriter familiar with Sheppard mentioned his name to legendary manager George Treadwell who managed the Drifter. He was looking for someone to replace one of the singers in the group. Sheppard’s songwriter friend was persuasive enough to get Treadwell to call Sheppard to see if he would be interested in joining The Drifters.
At the time Sheppard thought the caller was a friend playing a joke, so he hung up. Fortunately, Treadwell called back, assured Sheppard that he was, indeed, the manager of The Drifters and that the offer was genuine. After a quick apology and three seconds to think it over, Sheppard said, “yes,” and became a part of one of the greatest hit-makers in the history of contemporary popular music. The rest, as they say, is rock ‘n’ roll history.
 It will be one of the biggest one night events the city has seen in some time – and all outdoors, under the stars – at Nelson Park. The Drifters featuring Rick Sheppard are entering their fourth decade thrilling audiences in the United States, Canada, and worldwide. Their show is high energy and visually entertaining, mixing the classic Drifters repertoire that fans have come to know and love along with hits from the 1970s and 1980s done up in the unique Drifters style.
In 1996, they released two albums and have since sold millions of records.
That’s a lot of records and the Drifter are a load of talent – and for two days in September they will sing, entertain and provide music that people can listen and dance to at an evening under the stars at Nelson Park.
Tickers for the Friday evening Soiree are still available on-line. And there is still some room at Nelson Park – tickets available on-line. Show the partner in your life that you’ve not forgotten the music and you’ve not forgotten the person that took you to that Magic Moment music a long time ago.
 August 22, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. Retail store robberies usually take place at night when it is dark but a lone male suspect entered the Macy Mart variety store located at 437 Brock Avenue in the City of Burlington indicated he had a weapon and demanded cash.
No weapon was seen and after being given a quantity of cash the suspect fled the store and was last seen running out of the variety store on foot. No weapon was seen. The store employee was unharmed during the robbery. The time was approximately 4:50 p.m.
The suspect is described as follows:
Male, white, 5’6″ – 5’10’, thin/skinny build, 16-19 years old, dark hair with a red bandana covering his face, large dark sunglasses, baseball hat, wearing a light-colored “hoodie” with white drawstrings, white t-shirt, dark sneakers and black pants.
The male is presumed to be armed and members of the public should not approach this individual. Immediately call the Police and report his location.
Any person with information related to this investigation, the identity of the suspect are encouraged to contact the Three District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext 2316, 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).
 April 21, 2013
By Ray Rivers
BURLINGTON, ON. Last June, the Russian parliament unanimously passed a law that criminalizes “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors”. Presumably directed at the media, fines can reach as high as a million rubles, about $30,000 (Can) for a violation. It is unclear whether religion, increasing social conservatism, or the perceived need by Russians to reverse their falling birthrate was the stimulus for this bill. It is also unclear how broadly the authorities will interpret the new law.
We need to understand that homosexual relations in Russia have been legal since 1993 and still are. And though we see this new law as objectionable, when it comes to sexual discrimination Russia is in a far different league from the 38 African countries, including Uganda, which criminalize or otherwise repress homosexual activity. And Russia is nothing like Qatar and Iran where, under Iranian law, someone committing a homosexual act may receive 60 lashes or even the death penalty.
 The LBGT community has chosen to be very public in response to the repressive actions of the Russian government. It has taken a long time for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community to finally achieve a broad measure of equality and human rights in places like Canada and the USA. It was only 1967 when a young minister of justice named Pierre Trudeau ‘liberalized’ Canada’s criminal code on homosexuality, saying “the state has no business in the nation’s bedrooms”. Finally passed in 1969, this legislation also decriminalized abortion, and contraception, and further regulated lotteries, gun possession, drinking and driving offenses, harassing phone calls, misleading advertising and cruelty to animals. Passed by a two-thirds majority it was mostly opposed by the Conservatives, Social Credit and a lone Liberal.
In 2005 Paul Martin’s Liberals passed the Civil Marriage Act, making same-sex marriage legal in Canada, the fourth nation in the world and the first outside of Europe to do so. Again, the Conservatives were generally opposed. In fact, one of the early acts of the new Conservative minority government in 2006 was to reconsider (revoke) that legislation, a bill which was rebuffed by the other parties.
So, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, deserves considerable credit for taking on Russia, and Uganda and for bringing his Prime Minister and his political party on-side. He did the right thing, getting onto the curve of social opinion. Canada’s pro activity on this issue has not been unnoticed around the world, and is a much-needed step to restoring our international reputation. And John Baird, the former Tory bulldog has emerged as a respected diplomat for his efforts.
Our advocacy on this issue today is important, as the world community prepares to assemble in Sochi, Russia for the winter olympic games next year. Canada’s role has, no doubt, emboldened similar responses from the US, EU and IOC (Olympic Committee). Russia’s sports minister counters that this is an invented crisis, and he has promised to preserve the rights of all athletes attending the games. So why, then, did the Russians choose this time to pass such regressive, discriminatory, poorly defined and probably unworkable legislation?
 Russian athletes make their views on gay relationships really clear. Indeed Baird has displayed a progressive social characteristic that many complain is often so absent among conservatives and conservative policy. But we should remember that it was the capable Conservative justice minister Kim Campbell who liberalized and, thus, ended the abortion debate in this country. It was Brian Mulroney who led the attack on South Africa’s apartheid policies, in the face of American and British opposition. And Mulroney, despite his close relationship with US president Reagan, stood up against US aggression in Nicaragua, recalling another Canadian PM’s ethical positions on Vietnam and Cuba.
Russia’s new law may put an end to re-runs of ‘Will and Grace’ on Russian TV. The new censors there will have their hands full, cutting the ‘art’ which happens to ‘imitate life’ from the global media for Russian viewers. But it won’t stop the progress of civil and human rights everywhere. LGBT rights in Canada are among the most advanced in the world, and the debate here is over. It has been a long road and there is no going back. In the words of a former prime minister, “ what’s done in private between (consenting) adults doesn’t concern the Criminal Code”.
 Ray Rivers was born in Ontario; earned an economics degree at the University of Western Ontario. He taught in New Zealand and earned a Master’s degree in economics at the University of Ottawa. His 25 year stint with the federal government included time with Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Agriculture and the Post office. Rivers left the federal government to consult for private sector and government clients. He completed his first historical novel The End of September in 2012; a story about what might have happened had Quebecers voted for sovereignty association in the 1980 referendum. Rivers is active with ratepayers groups, a food bank, environmental organizations, community journalism and policing. He has run for municipal and provincial government offices and held executive positions with Liberal Party riding associations. He developed the current policy process for the Ontario Liberal Party.
 August 20, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. Stela is in town. She arrived late last night and slept in for a bit this morning. Later today she will begin unpacking and getting ready to meet people in her new home
 Stela having a nap at a truck yard in midtown Burlington You know what it’s like when you move to a new place and everyone in the new place knows you well, or they think they do, and they want to drop in and get caught up. You’re still living out of cardboard boxes and every member of the family wants to drop in. It gets a little hectic, all these people – they see themselves as members of your family – and want to tell you what you should do next. Jewish and Italians families do this sort of thing all the time – but truth to tell the WASPs are just as bad.
Anyway – you have to meet them and you do love everything you hear about the new city and you’re kind of excited.
So – what are you going to wear for this “grand entrance” into your new town?
 Stela has a good bottom to her. She’ll need it – she’s going to stand outside the Performing Arts Centre for a long time proudly showing off her jewely and her fine lines. Turns out Stela is quite a looker. Double D’s, or that’s what we’ve heard, but she isn’t showing very much right now. That Double D might be the name of the guy that’s transporting her around town.
When she gets set up at her new place the lower part of Stella will be covered up with some kind of skirting. Some thought was given to draping her with a tent but she is very tall and there was nothing large enough to cover all of her.
When you get to see her she will be wearing quite a bit of jewelry – she tends to overdo it a bit. Sometime she wears every piece of jewelry she owns.
Friends and family members will get to see her Sunday afternoon at a reception on the Plaza of the Performing Arts Centre
This is the way we saw the entrance of the Spiral Stela into the city.
The news spinners at city hall tell the story in their way.
People from across Burlington who contributed personal belongings to a public art piece are being asked to come to The Burlington Performing Arts Centre on Sunday, Aug. 25 to celebrate the installation of the sculpture they helped create.
Created by Canadian artist Peter Powning, Spiral Stela is a tall stainless steel sculpture wrapped with a bronze spiral made from imprints of local residents’ cherished items – a process Powning calls “cultural mulch.” More than 200 objects were submitted by residents and incorporated into the work.
 Above is the design sample submitted by Peter Powning. what Burlington will see Sunday afternoon will be quite a bit different. First the Spiral Stella will be to the left of the ramp leading into the Centre. The overall look will be the same but Burlington’s Stela will have more than 200 local artifacts cast in Bronze attached to the base of the structure where people can see and touch the work. The latest piece in the City of Burlington’s Public Art program will find its home at the corner of Locust and Elgin and the city wants you to come see and feel this truly public work. Spiral Stela, an obelisk-shaped sculpture by New Brunswick-based artist Peter Powning, will stand tall outside the Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
Keeping with the public spirit of public art, it was created with the help of Burlington residents this past winter. Powning used an interactive process he calls “cultural mulch” to construct bronze bands which will enrobe the structure – bands that were made from the tactile impressions formed by people’s heirlooms such as jewellery, keys, instruments, and tools, which they brought to Powning during public “casting sessions.” Powning then shipped the Burlington-made plaster impressions to his studio down east, where they were cast once more in bronze, and the 17-foot tall sculpture took its final shape.
The Burlington Public Art Program, is managed by CoBALT Connects, that oversaw the selection of a jury that chose the Spiral Stela from 119 designs submitted for this location from internationally acclaimed artists.
 August 21, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. It is going to be a challenge for the BurlingtonGreen people. They got chosen as the Ontario entry for the Jamieson Laboratories Call for the Wild contest that has the potential to put a really significant chunk of the $100,000 that is up for grabs, into the BurlingtonGreen coffers – IF the Greens can get its membership and the good people of the city of Burlington to vote for them.
So far – they haven’t been doing all that well. They are up against the Vancouver Aquarium, the Calgary Wildlife Association, the McGill Bird Sanctuary and the Nova Scotia Hope for Wildlife.
As of 8:00 am this morning Vancouver was miles ahead of BurlingtonGreen – who are second to last out of the five players in this game.
 BurlingtonGreen Executive Director Amy Schnurr with the bike that was donated by the Mountain Equipment Co-op as art of the drive to increase votes for the Call of the Wild $100,000 contest. BurlingtonGreen needs the big push and they need it now. The membership has been alerted but with just 678 votes at 8:00 am this morning this says one of two things – that the membership is much lower than most people thought or that the membership isn’t responding. Neither scenario is very healthy for the association.
Vancouver has 1216 visits and stood to take $21,867; Calgary had 573 votes and stood to take away $10,304; Burlington had 678 votes and stood to pick up $12,193; McGill’s Bird Observer logged 1481 votes which would give then$26,632 and Nova Scotia pulled in 1613 votes which would translate into $29,005.
The contest has two parts.
Vote for Burlington on the Jamieson Laboratories Call for the Wild facebook page.
You do not need a Facebook page of your own to vote on the Call for the Wild Facebook page.
Just go and vote.
Once you have voted for BurlingtonGreen slide over to their website and put your name into the draw for the really neat bicycle that they have thrown into this contest,
Two votes – one might get you a neat bike – the other will add to the votes cast for Burlington in the Call for the Wild competition which is splitting $100,000 between five organizations in Canada based on the proportion of votes each gets.
And right now – BurlingtonGreen aint doin so good.
 BurlingtonGreen members water plants and shrubs they planted along the Beachway Park earlier in the year. One of their ongoing programs If anyone can put those dollars to a good cause – it is BurlingtonGreen. Part of the work they do is planting trees and shrubs which they did recently along the Beachway Park. The plants needed watering – so out they trooped to the Beachway to hold a small press conference and water the plants. They do things like this throughout they year.
Amy Schnurr explains that a lot of the BurlingtonGreen members are students who are not back at school yet. Once they are in the classrooms – the push can be done at that level.
OK – but if anyone watches their email it is the students and BurlingtonGreen is sending out emails to every one of its members. Something isn’t adding up here. Let’s not dwell on that at this point.
The contest is the focus – and saying it is summer and people are away applies to the other four contestants as well as Burlington.
 August 20, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. The city announced the winner of the sand castle contest – an event that drew more contestants than last year.
The event seems to attract families that burrow away in the sand with everyone either oiling sand or pouring water and warily watching what the other contestants are doing. There were 5 adults, 8 children, 9 families, and 3 youth contestants pre-registered this year:
 This developing artist was waiting for the rest of her team and ensuring that her plot would be easily found Gorgeous weather and a beautiful waterfront location brought tens of thousands of attendees out to the 22nd Annual Children’s Festival this past weekend. The city reports 6500+ people on the Beachway Saturday and just as many at Spencer Smith Park on Sunday.
Besides the locals doing their thing the city brings in “professional” sand castle builders who do their thing.
 This has the look of a production line – serious stuff and a lot of fun as well. Imagine families from different parts of the city competing against one another. Next years perhaps. Sandi ‘Castle’ Stirling and Nick Blandin, winners of several North American sand sculpting awards, and Sharon Nesbitt, People’s Choice winner from the 2010 competition, along with Raymond Poirier were doing really fun stuff. The four sculptors created their circus themed master pieces throughout the event.
In the Adult category the winners were:
1st prize adult Dale Andrews
2nd prize adult John Bowron
3rd prize adult Karen Barnes
In the Youth category the winners were:
1st prize youth Julia Barnes
2nd prize youth Michael Girard
3rd prize youth Jacob Pacaud
In the Child category the winners were:
1st prize child Bree MacDowell
2nd prize child Sarah Bowron
3rd prize child Kate Green-Johns
In the family category the winners were:
1st prize family Bowron Family
2nd prize family Pearson Family
3rd prize family Andrews Family
The People’s Choice Award went to Lauren Sawras
The Saturday’s festivities ended with a free movie – free event Madagascar 3.
 The Beachway part of the Children’s Festival isn’t just about sand castles. Face painting and demonstrations are a large part of the event as well. Here a young girl appears a little apprehensive while one book looks on with delight while the brother and sister give the process a quizzical look The Children’s Festival is a free annual event that takes place the third weekend August and spans The Waterfront at Downtown Burlington with beach fun on Saturday in Beachway Park and traditional family fun in Spencer Smith Park on Sunday. To be involved in next year’s festival, please contact the City of Burlington’s Event Office at festivalsandevents@burlington.ca You can reach them by telephone at: 905-335-7766.
 Part 1 of a 5 part series.
August 19, 2013
By Gordana Liddell
BURLINGTON, ON. Whenever I walk through a forest, I try and picture what it used to be like when only the indigenous people were here. I look for arrowheads, (never with any luck), and I always try and just take in the sounds and smells around me. Those things have not changed, so it must have sounded and smelled the same to them. The actual place is still the same place.
When it comes to Alton Village, walking through the neighbourhoods, with freshly paved sidewalks and nicely manicured lawns, cars drive by and the dogs are on leashes. I would wager a healthy bet that not too many people have ever wondered what this area was like pre-construction. One of the reasons being that many of us know what it was like. A big empty field, or former farmland. Nothing more and nothing less. Much like what we would see driving while along Dundas St west of town…for now, that is.
Well the truth is that Alton, like most places, does have a history.
 Even in their wildest imaginations – the Alton family would never have thought those farm fields would look like this – imagine the increase in value. Now, I really need to preface this article by stating that it was very difficult to put together the dates and names and to make perfect sense of the information that I found. Nearly every historian that I spoke with, every library book that I looked at, (yes…actual books. Google couldn’t get it done, but when doing research on pioneers it seems fitting to do stuff the old-fashioned way, wouldn’t you say?), the archives from the history room…nothing I found corresponded with anything else I found. Nevertheless, I will present to you the facts as I was best able to determine them.
Let’s begin with John Cleaver. The land that Alton Village sits on was originally owned by John Cleaver who, along with his wife Mary, arrived in Canada in 1805 from Pennsylvania. It’s unclear as to why they came to Canada but given the year, many resources come to the conclusion that it was quite possibly due to post American Revolution unrest.
In 1806, Nelson Township, (what most of us today call “Burlington”), held a land lottery and Mr. Cleaver drew the lot that Alton Village now rests on. He was awarded the 200 acres from the areas that are now called Dundas St. to Walker’s Line to No.1 Sideroad.
Subsequently, John Cleaver brought his bride to the area, and he built their matrimonial home; a log cabin, undoubtedly with a good threshold over which to carry her. (I think it was a requirement in those days. ) The Cleavers settled there and began their family. One of their daughters was named Charlotte and this is the girl who caught the eye of one Thomas Alton.
Thomas Alton was a young lad from the area of Appleby, in Westmoreland County, England. In fact, many of the original families in Nelson Township came from there. (For reference, this area is in the Northeast part of England, about 100 kms north of Manchester.) Thomas was born in 1795 and immigrated to Nelson Township in 1819. I did the math for you…he was 24. Like many of our grandparents, parents, or even our generation of immigrants, he came across the ocean with very little, only 75 English Pounds to his name. I can’t imagine what that amount translated into 200 years ago…but I would venture a guess that it was not a tremendous amount.
Now come all the different interpretations of young Thomas’ venture…
Thomas Alton settled in Nelson Township, where he rented out 40 acres of land for 4 years.
or…He bought land at the rate of 1 Pound per acre on the north side of the “Middle Road”, which is now the QEW, the second lot west of Appleby Line.
Or…He applied for a crown grant in which essentially, the crown, (the governing body), transfers ownership of the property of the piece of land, turning it from public to private property. In order to get a grant, and to keep it, certain conditions had to be met in order to receive the title. A specific amount of the land had to be cultivated, the applicant must live on the property, and a homestead had to be built on the property. He was first granted the land on the north side of the Middle Road, the second lot west of Appleby. He continued to farm it and acquire more land until he owned 1250 acres.
Then he met the lovely Charlotte. And in 1822, Thomas Alton married Charlotte Cleaver.
 The Altons built a house that has stood the test of time. The basic structure seen here still comes through loud and clear in the structure that stands on what is now called Settlement Court It is said that Mr. and Mrs. Alton “acquired” the land that is now Alton Village in 1830 from Charlotte’s father, John Cleaver. And they subsequently built a brick house, (which used to have a Dundas Street address, but now graces the modern-day street of Settlement Court). Different records show the brick house being built in 1837 as well as circa 1860. Let’s just say it was built in the mid 1800’s.
 Beautifully and faithfully restored – the Alton house is now tucked away in a part of the Alton village, And as the family grew in size over the years, so did the house, as well as the number of outbuildings on their farm including, a barn, garage and sheds.
Based on the different sources, all evidence seems to point to some of the same conclusions.
 Not a lot of pictures in the early days. The Alton-Cleaver marriage is said to have produced 16 children – might have been 17, one of whom was David who married Mary Ann Breckon on February 2, 1854 The one consistent thing that I did read about Thomas Alton was that he was a hard worker and an industrious man. Essentially, he came to the area, “got” some land north of the Middle Road, increased the land’s value and bought more, and he made it work.
So, at some point, we think that Thomas and Charlotte are living on their farm which is now Alton Village. (I say at some point because the years 1822 to 1830 remain unaccounted for). They had 16 kids, (some sources say 17), and that’s a whole lotta branches on the tree, but it wasn’t unusual for the time. One son was named Joseph. He married his bride Hannah, and this couple lived on the famed homestead from the 1850’s. The Alton descendants continued to live there well into the 20th century. Joseph and Hannah had a son named Thomas…was this the Thomas that is referred to; that the area and the street are named after? Did his granddaddy ever even live on this property? One source tells me that even this is uncertain. (If it means anything, I personally think Thomas Sr. did live there, as most evidence suggests so).
One of the most interesting stories I dug up was that the Alton homestead is part of a legend. In 1837, while William Lyon Mackenzie King was seeking refuge during the Upper Canada Rebellion, one of the homes to take him in was the Alton home. They helped to feed, clothe and hide him, and they disguised him and gave him horses so that he could keep right on going. The Alton and Cleaver men were said to have met up with a party of Tories in search of Mackenzie and they held them off at gunpoint and forced them off of their property. Mackenzie eventually made it to the American border and sought refuge there for a while.
 Frontier or not – they still had to eat and milk was a big staple in most diet – the cows just stood there while the woman milked them. The house as it stands today is clearly seen in the background. It may be the suburban suburbs now, but it really was quite the frontier land, complete with shootouts and outlaws.
Frontier it was, and it was very hard to get around. The area of Appleby, current day Alton Village, was pretty isolated, and the population was very sparse. Believe it or not, the best time of the year to get around was in the winter when the snow was packed hard and it made driving a carriage possible, otherwise the roads were very tough to drive on. Then, in 1847 (again, that year is a sketchy detail), the Great Western Railroad had reached the area. Now people had access to Niagara Falls, Hamilton, London, Windsor, all now because of the train. Things began to change then, as they tend to do when a train rolls through.
The land was eventually handed down, not to a family member, but to a beloved farm hand that went by the name of Richardson. When was it handed down and why to a farm hand? I don’t know. But I do know that the person who sold the land was not named Alton…or Cleaver.
Enter the development of modern-day Alton, starting with the catalyst which was highway 407.
 The Mike Harris government gave the province the 407 highway then sold it to an Italian firm who now have the ability to take your license away from you if there is a dispute over the payment of a toll road charge. On the upside – the highway did allow for the creation of the Alton Village we have today. The 407 was planned back in 1972, began construction in 1987 and opened in 1997 from the 410 to the 404. In 1998, the part of the 407 that borders Alton today, (the Winston Churchill to the 403 segment) was built. The land needed for this 407 extension was purchased from Mr. Richardson for $50 million.(Nice.)
And so it followed that when the 407 was built, the area between Dundas to the 407 was no longer a naturally rural area…and the urban border got moved north. So, in 2004, developers then bought up this remaining land form Mr. Richardson for $20 million. They got their permits, and in 2006, the development of our beloved Alton Village began.
Today that house, that one and a half story piece of history, sits atop its own little hill, right within our own subdivision, on the suitably named Settlement Court. It’s a living testament to our history and the fact that there is a story that preceded all of this construction.
It has been beautifully preserved and restored and in 2007 it was designated a heritage building. I was lucky enough to be invited into the home. The gracious owner showed me around and pointed out the numerous original elements, and it was obvious that painstaking care and hard work had been taken in order to preserve the integrity of the property. It is a museum within our neighbourhood.
I was told that between the years 2007-2009, Mattamy sold the house to an employee in his early 20’s. This man obviously knew what a gift it was and took great care to restore it, and in 2009 he sold it to the current owners. Luckily for all of us, both the previous as well as the current owners have treated the house in the special way that it deserves, also with a sense of obligation to its history.
Upon entering the home, I was struck by all of the beautiful wood. All of the original floors, trim and doors have been preserved beautifully. The rooms are currently being used as they were originally intended and it’s easy to let your imagination go and feel what life was like in this house so many years ago.
Once in the front door, you are standing in the hearth area, the dining room, which leads to the kitchen. From this one room, two staircases lead the way upstairs, originally one way for the family, and the other for the maids. Some details you would not see today are a field stone foundation, a cellar door with a trapdoor leading outside, 150 year old doors and hardware, a beautifully ornate doorbell, and a bell on top of the house. The architectural work on the outside of the house are period, such as the gable and the porch details, and help to make the house stand out in a subtle way. Oh…and there’s that triple sized lot with the creek running behind it…that stands out, too.
The owners were looking for a character home, and boy did they bag a good one. For both the interior and the exterior to be maintained in the period, and within that character, shows a great deal of caring. It blends in…somewhat…but it still stands out. It’s not that obvious at first glance, but when you drive by, that sideways facing house catches your attention.
The Cleaver-then-Alton homestead is an important historical gem to us. The property and the people who lived in it, played a significant role in the settlement of Nelson township, and subsequently, Alton Village.
The Cleaver’s also had a great deal to do with the history of this land. It was, after all, originally Cleaver land. Well, it was originally Aboriginal land, then crown land, then…well, that’s the type of argument that starts wars.
The fact is that when the original families immigrated to the area, they all had large families and, the sparse population being a factor, they intermarried. The Alton’s and the Cleaver families were both large, powerful and prominent. And they were both a part of Alton Village history.
Just as every person has a story, I believe that every place has a story.
The details of “who” and “when” remain unclear…mysterious even. Like a woman who doesn’t reveal everything about herself, including her age, there is a certain mystique about her…she “keeps them guessing”. The same holds true for the history of an area. Not knowing absolutely everything lends itself to infinite possibilities. It lets our imaginations add colour and our own details. It’s more interesting that way…because it keeps them guessing.
All the historical pictures are from the Burlington Historical Society digital archives.
Gordana Liddell is a writer. Her passion is travel. We were able to convince her to travel about the community that first got her to Burlington and to focus on where she and her husband decided to settle.
 August 19, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. As we get ready to move into September those of us who love film organize our calendars to get as much time in Toronto at TIFF as possible.
And if you don’t know what TIFF stands for – read no further – we don’t have much that will interest you.
But if film is a medium matters to you, if you make a point of getting to at least two or three films during the Toronto International Film Festival – then read on –we have a treat for you.
Ever heard of the Tottering Biped? You have? But you didn’t know what the words meant – we understand. Trevor Copp who put the two words together explains them this way: “Tottering Biped” was inspired by Phillip Tobias’ landmark study on human development, Man: the Tottering Biped, which contends that the human skeleton is not entirely bipedal, it is still in transition from a quadrupedal structure. This thought: that we are deeply incomplete; that the basic act of standing upright and living a conscientious life requires constant effort, informs everything we do.”
The Biped is planning a Film Festival for next January – right here in Burlington – not Toronto, not Hamilton – here in Burlington.
 Trevor Copp, founder of Tottering Biped Theatre and one of the partners planning on holding a Film Festival in Burlington. Trevor Copp and Christopher Giroux, Owner of Red & White Productions, are partnering to create a Canadian based film festival in Burlington. They are seeking new voices and supporting local and Canadian work by providing emerging artists with the opportunity to showcase their short films. It is the long-term goal that the Tottering Biped Film Festival will become an annual event. The “first annual” will be one-night festival on January 17, 2014 at The Burlington Art Centre.
 Copps produced and performed in “First Dance”; a production that pushed the edges of dramatic theatre. Copp has come to the realization that he doesn’t have to truck into Toronto to make a living as an artist – he can make a go of it in Burlington and has emerged as one of the best known artistic figures in the city. He founded Tottering Biped Theatre (TBT) in 2009, Burlington’s first professional contemporary theatre company. The company’s productions have toured throughout Ontario and been featured in Theatre Aquarius’ current TA2 season.
“I’ve become fascinated with the problem of art in suburbia,” says Copp, the performer and co-creator of TBT. “Suburbanites allocate their sense of culture to the city. They feel like we’re just an adjunct of the city, that our life is just sort of a surrogate thing, a temporary life between commutes. And I have a problem with the sense that our stories are not legitimate.”
Copp aims to change that, founding what he believes is the city’s first professional theatre company. Over the two years leading up to the company’s first original production, Copp and TBT have committed to presenting controversial, risky and award-winning scripts. They’ve tackled plays on incest (Home Free), mental illness (To the Ends of the Earth), sexual abuse (Blackbird) and terrorism (My Name is Rachel Corrie), topics that affect people nationwide, but that are usually only presented theatrically in larger cities.
Copp is also the founder of the Artist’s Collective of Burlington which is looking forward to becoming a force that will be heard as Burlington begins public discussion of a Cultural Plan. He was awarded one of the prestigious Chalmers Fellowships and was named Burlington’s Arts Person of the Year designation in 2012.
 Santaland Diaries – another Copps production His passion is “to see artists of all stripes see this place as a home, not a place to sleep between commutes. This town has every potential to be a thriving arts centre and this Film Festival will take us there.”
 Chris Giroux – the film side of the team planning on bringing a Film Festival to the city. Christopher Giroux has been working in the film industry for 10 years. A graduate of Sheridan’s Advanced TV and Film program he has worked as a producer, production manager, camera operator, gaffer and technical director.
His “oeuvre” includes associate producer on the coming feature film “Antisocial” from Breakthrough Entertainment and Black Fawn Films.
This team has been looking forward to working on this project together. As Copp puts it: “Chris brings tremendous credential both as an artist and producer to the Festival; he has both managed large professional film projects and slogged it out in the emerging film field. He’s a rising star in the Film world and we’re lucky for the Festival to hitch a ride.”
A panel of jury members will select a handful of works to show for the one-night festival on January 17, 2014 at The Burlington Art Centre. Shorts of any genre are welcome and must be under twenty minutes in length. More detail on submission deadlines and further information on the Tottering Biped Film Festival visit their web site.
The group also announced a poster competition for this year’s event.
The Festival is currently looking to expand their sponsors. If you or your company is interested in becoming part of this innovative event, contact them at tbffburlington@gmail.com.
 August 19, 2013
By Staff.
BURLINGTON, ON. This is the time to get the clicker – no, not the TV remote – that key on your computer or the mouse you use to bring the cash home.
 Almost like an election campaign poster – but this time there is a real winner – the community. The BurlingtonGreen Environmental Association has been chosen as one of five Canadian organizations competing for votes in the 2013 Jamieson Laboratories Call for the Wild! contest.
They were selected from 150 applications to participate in the Jamieson Laboratories people’s choice donation program that divides $100,000 between five wilderness and wildlife organizations based on the number of public votes received on the company’s voting page (Facebook is not required to vote) between August 19 and midnight on September 15th.
Call for the Wild! was launched three years ago to increase awareness about protecting, preserving and rehabilitating the wilderness and wildlife across the country. Throughout the four-week Jamieson Cares Facebook campaign, visitors can learn more about the important work of each organization and ask questions through social media. As they learn about the unique contribution of each wilderness/wildlife organization, Canadians will be invited to cast a vote for their favourite. Every vote will translate into a proportional donation from Jamieson Laboratories.
 A tireless advocate for the environment – Amy Schnurr puts out the word every chance she gets – this time she wants your vote – and she isn’t running for public office. Why doesn’t she run for city council. Ward 6 would love her. Amy Schnurr, Executive Director of BurlingtonGreen said: “We are honoured to be selected to participate in this nation-wide contest as it provides us with a rare opportunity to showcase to Canadians how a small but dedicated citizen based agency can achieve positive, impactful results to protect and to improve the health of our “urban wild,” She added that “We hope our supporters will vote every day during the 28 day contest period so we can realize much-needed funds to support our programs and to expand our reach so we can have an even bigger impact.”
As an added bonus, BurlingtonGreen is including a “Help us win and you could win too!” component to their campaign. Along with voting for their agency on the Jamieson Call for the Wild! on-line voting page, their supporters will be invited to enter a draw for a chance to win a bike valued at more than $1,000 thanks to the generosity of Mountain Equipment Co-op.
Once you’ve voted, and you can vote once every day, you can then enter your name in a draw for the bike.
BurlingtonGreen is making remembering to vote once every day easy – they will send you an email.
BurlingtonGreen has had an exceptional year as an organization. They were chosen as the community Jane Goodall launched her national drive to improve environmental awareness. That 2012 event filled the Performing Arts Centre for both an afternoon and an evening event. Then the organization won a grant from the province to plant more trees on along Beachway Park. Those funds were the result of a visit the then Minister of the Environment paid to Burlington during the annual CleanUp – Green Up event BurlingtonGreen organizes.
 The annual CleanUp-GreenUp campaign Burlington Green organizes ends with a gathering of the environmental clan at city hall. One of these years it isn’t going to rain on the CleanUp-GreenUp day. BurlingtonGreen holds the annual CleanUp-GreenUp campaign that rids the city of tons of trash.
Amy Schnurr, BurlingtonGreen’s executive Director was then chosen as the Environmentalist of the year in the annual Burlington’s BEST awards.
Not on the BurlingtonGreen mailing list? Join here today to get your helpful daily vote reminder.
Call for the Wild! is Jamieson Laboratories’ annual community investment program that grants a total of $100,000 each year to registered non-profit organizations involved in the protection of Canada’s iconic wilderness and wildlife.
Every year, five organizations are selected to participate in a public voting campaign on Facebook. At the close of each campaign, Jamieson Laboratories awards a donation to each organization based on their percentage of votes cast.
Jamieson Laboratories, Canada’s oldest and largest manufacturer and distributor of natural vitamins, minerals, concentrated food supplements, herbs and botanical medicines celebrates its 90th anniversary this year from a position of strength, market leadership earned by consistently providing innovative products of the highest quality, purity and safety.
“Starting Monday, we will be sending a daily vote reminder to everyone on our mailing list. The reminder will include the voting link along with a link for you to enter the awesome bike draw – Help us win and YOU could win too!
You can easily unsubscribe from receiving the daily reminders at anytime by clicking on the SAFE UNSUBSCRIBE link located at the bottom of the mail you will receive from us….BUT we hope you will stay with us and support this amazing and rare opportunity to help BurlingtonGreen and our important efforts to help the planet locally in many impactful ways.”
Jamieson Laboratories’ decided to do what Kraft Foods did for the hockey community – look for a neat way to draw traffic and award cash prizes to the community that gets the most votes.
The Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey Association BLOMHA) won $20,000 for the getting its people out and voting.
BurlingtonGreen wants to motivate its members to do the same and has gone one step further – they have added in a draw for a bike – with a retail value of more than $1000.
When BuringtonGreen takes on a project – they go all out.
The green guys are in very good company on this one. Last year the David Suzuki Foundation competed for Ontario.
The contest is being run on the Jamieson Facebook page – but you don’t have to have a Facebook page of your own to vote.
It all begins today – August 19th and runs to September 15th, 2013.
https://www.facebook.com/jamiesonvitamins. You can vote once a day every day from August 19th to September 15th, 2013. You do NOT need Facebook to vote.
 Mountain Co-op has put up an MEC bike as part of the enticement to get people to vote for BurlingtonGreen’s chances to take home a large part of the $100,000 that is on the line. Thanks to the generosity of Mountain Equipment Co-op, voters will have a chance to win an awesome bike valued at over $1,000.
To be eligible for the bike contest you must FIRST vote at Jamieson’s and SECOND enter the draw on BurlingtonGreen’s website.
A bit confusing – but the prize is there – the more often you vote, the more opportunities you have to enter the bike draw. Vote every day during the contest period and you will have 28 chances to win the bike!
If BurlingtonGreen people cast 50% of the ballots counted – they would get half of the $50,000 – and that isn’t chump change. Every vote will translate into a proportional donation from Jamieson Laboratories. BurlingtonGreen has a reputation for stretching a buck a long way as well.
While the contest has the potential to pull in a significant amount of money it is also a rare opportunity to show the people of Canada that our not-for-profit Association is making a positive difference to help the planet locally. BurlingtonGreen has achieved a great deal in the last five years realizing significant benefits to help the environment but they maintain they have a lot more important work to do.
 August 18, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. Burlington’s Children Festival is a two-day event. The first at Beachway Park takes place at the water’s edge. The second day is at Spencer Smith Park and is a little more commercial and has dozens of activities for the little guys.
As we strolled around here is the picture we saw.
 It was Mommys and babies and Dads and kids – and sunscreen for this little guy.  These two knew what to do when they got tired.  This young lad was surprised when he made the bell on the sledge-hammer attraction actually ring.  Working off the energy on the treadmill.  There were lineups for some of the attractions – but they were free and the lines moved quickly and smoothly.  As they get a little older – they are ready for bigger challenges. This group works their way through a children’s obstacle course.
 August 19, 2013
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. They have been holding the event every year for the past 20 years. It’s a two-day event, usually during the second half of August. One day on the Beachway Park where the sand castle contest was the big deal – as well as some impressive face painting.
 This little girl likes what she sees but the boy behind her isn’t so sure.  Beach tents were a new addition to the Festival. They were available for rental this year.  It was people, people, people – for almost as far as the eye could see along the Beachway.  Some people knew how to get in on the event and stay cool at the same time. Not sure how much reading got done..  These sand castle competitors were clearly a family effort.  Lots of plots for sand castle competitors – there didn’t seem to be as many this years as there were last. The city did make it possible for people to register on line for a space. Perhaps more promotion is needed.  Mom getting ready to pass the football. Day two was at Spencer Smith Park where there was dozens upon dozens of things for kids to do..
A family can get out for the day and spend less than $3 per child and have a healthy, full, fun day. The $3 gets the child an ice-cream.
The event is put on by the city’s Festivals and Events department and is actually a profit centre. The city looks for sponsors for everything – and for the most part they get the sponsorship they need.
It’s not a news story; it is a great picture-taking occasion. There are no speeches given. We didn’t see one single politician – but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there.
How many people showed up? Very hard to tell. Certainly in the thousands – perhaps as high as 4000 on the Sunday at Spencer Smith.
If you weren’t there – the pictures tell the story.
If you were there – are you in the picture.
Sunday at Spencer Smith was just as interesting and clearly as much fun for those who got out for the day.
 August 19, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. Stella is moving from New Brunswick to the corner of Locust and Elgin, perched on the edge of the plaza outside the Performing Arts Centre.
Stella is a beauty – her full name is Spiral Stella and she came out of Peter Powning’s studio in New Brunswick. Her pedigree? Pure Burlington – with several centuries of history all over her.
Spiral Stella is the most recent piece of public art set up in the city. This latest effort is the result of a generous donation from Dan Lawrie, a Burlington businessman who, besides being a successful insurance company owner is also an artist in his own right.
 Dan Lawrie, an artist in his own right and also collector sits with a piece of art that is part of his collection. It was the Lawrie donation that got the city to He approached the city and offered to donate $37,500 for a major piece of public art. The city went to Jeremy Freiburger, head honcho over at Cobalt Connects, its managing partner for the Public Art Program and he set up a volunteer committee that would judge the submissions that came in
And come in they did. There were 119 submissions from artists from across North America.
 Olympian Melanie Booth brought her medal to have an impression made and hopefully have it become part of the Spiral Stella sculpture. Jeremy Freiburger, on the right, the city’s managing partner for the Public Art Program, admires the medal. Trevor Copp, one of the members of the jury that chose Powning’s submission is beside Ms Booth. The committee narrowed the 119 down to five and asked the public for comment: more than 500 people responded and out of those comments came the decision to select Powning’s Spiral Stella.
Powning was not a newcomer to Burlington. He has five pieces of his work in the permanent collection at the Burlington Art Centre. Link to first stage
 Powning made impressions in artist’s clay which he took back to his studio in New Brunswick and made bronze castings that will be affixed to the Spiral Stella. Shown here is one of the early castings. See anything that you recognize?  Boy who just cannot keep his eyes off the work artist Peter Powning does as he makes impressions in clay – the first stage of the creation of the Spiral Stella that will sit outside the Performing Arts Centre. Powning uses artifacts that come from the community to tell its story. Hundreds trooped over to the Burlington Art Centre to have an impression made of their artifacts. No one knew exactly where there object was going to appear on the Spiral – Powning didn’t know either when he was making the impressions. What would go where was the creative part of the project. Next Sunday we will get to see what Powning decided to do.
It should be quite stunning.
 Work crew prepares the base for Peter Powning’s Spiral Stella that will arrive in town later this week and be unveiled on Sunday, Originally the sculpture was going to be to the north of the walkway leading into the Performing Arts Centre but besides being open to a street where a vehicle could run into it, the location was too close to an oil pipeline that runs underneath Elgin Street. The sculpture will not sit to the left of the walkway and be part of the Performing Arts plaza. Much better location for this art.
Burlington is clearly on a roll. The pier was successfully opened, the public loves the place and now we are going to see an exceptional piece of art in a location where thousands can see the work.
The last piece of public art the city put up was nice enough but it got plunked down in the middle of a high traffic road where care zoomed by as they slipped through a railway grade separation on Upper Middle Road.
Nice art, wrong location.
Stella will be in a great location.
 August 17, 2013
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, O. Scott Robertson, owner of the Burlington Bandits, did say there would be a comeback, as people were leaving Nelson Ball Park Thursday evening where the Burlington Bandits were playing the London Majors in what looked like the last game for the Bandits – they were down 3 and 0 in a seven game play-off round.
 Scott Robertson – in full array, is the owner of the Burlington Bandits and also co-chair of the This Magic Moment event. We left the game at the top of the 4th and wished Robertson well. He assured us we go could on-line and see the turn around. As we were walking to our car there was a roar from the stands and I turned to my wife and said: “Gosh, do you think they are going to actually win the game?” Bandits crossed the plate three times in the 4th inning.
Win it they did not but they did give the London Majors a bit of a run for their money adding a run in the 8th inning and two in the nine to end their last game of the season with a 9-6 loss. Not too shabby. London was a far better team with much more depth and more experienced players.
Robertson explained that the Bandits are younger and they are still learning to work together as a team. That was obvious from what we saw – but what we also saw was a team with a fan base that got excited when the players on the field were doing well. That roar of the crowd we heard as we walked to the car was genuine.
For Robertson the task is now to get a better stadium. “We need more space; we need a field with real dugouts for the team. There is just the one washroom for men and one for women added Richardson. “If we had huge crowds we’d have a problem.”
Richardson maintains that his players are treated better than any other players in the league; all of whom are volunteers; young athletes picking up experience. “If we had even one paid player on the team explained Richardson, all the players would lose their National College Athletic Association eligibility.” If players are paid they are deemed to be professionals.
The task now is to review the year, figure out which players have grown, which players they want to call back and whether or not the team wants to go looking for players elsewhere – maybe some imports.
Training staff will get a review as well.
What was attendance like? Bandits’ management doesn’t release actual figures but they do ay that the numbers this year were 25% higher than they were last year. Great number – but was last year abysmal and is the 25% real growth?
What Richardson and his staff have done is made the league look more professional. The program they put out was very good. They had all kinds of promotional gimmicks and shared the love with other organizations in the city. Each game there was a 50/50 ticket draw – with the half that wasn’t given a way as prize money passed along to the United Way.
Richardson says the Bandits will be back next year. Lots of room for growth – it takes time to develop a franchise. Sponsorship was good – lots of banners around the ball park.
 The objective has always been to make the ball games a family event – winning more games and making it past the first round of the finals would be nice too. Scott Robertson would like to see a better playing field with upgraded public facilities – but for now he is happy to see fathers, sons and Mom out at the ball park. What we saw were a number of families out for the evening. A fair number of seniors as well. A lot of people gathered around the refreshment stand and beer sales looked decent.
It was a 23 game season for the bandits – let’s see how they do next year.
Ticket prices for the next season were announced.
$100 for the season; $70 for adults and students. A FlexPak of ten tickets is $55 for adults; $35 for seniors – that’s $3.50 a game – probably the best entertainment deal in town.
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