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| BJ family member blogging from Japan |
Alec Louis-seize has been teaching English as a second language on the island of Hokkaido (northern) Japan and he has been blogging about
his experiences.
When the devestating earthquake and tsunami hit the islands on Friday, march 11, 2011, Blue Jay Ridge friends and family were particularly concerned.
Fortunately, Alec was in a "land locked" area and was not directly affected.
Follow his adventures on his blog Nippon
Waters. |
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| Another round of thefts from cars |
 (Cardinal Crescent - Saturday, March 19, 2011) A neighbour called me up this afternoon to report that
several cars along Cardinal Crescent had been entered overnight.
Checking with a number of residents it appears that at least four or more vehicles were hit. They were all unlocked
and so far nothing has been reported stolen. A number of things were touched and some glove compartments were emptied
with their contents strewn on the floors.
This incident is mindful of a larger number of thefts that occurred last summer in both Blue Jay Ridge and Forest
Hill. At least a dozen vehicles were affected but in that incident radio front plates, sun glasses, CDs, loose
change and other items were stolen, along with at least one GPS and one company cell phone.
 Earlier this year we reported that the Russell County OPP were warning residents to be vigilant
after a series of thefts from motor vehicles and sheds were reported to the police in the village of Casselman.
We carried the story at
that time because even though those thefts occurred away from the Canaan Connexion coverage area, this is type of theft is a universal
problem and residents of all areas should be aware.
Apparently not all residents heeded the warning.
As in the previous story, we offer the police advice: The easiest way to protect yourself against these crimes
is to keep your vehicles locked at all time. If you have access to a garage bring your vehicle inside and lock
your garage. You should never leave valuable objects or packages inside your vehicle. Always keep your garage/car/shed
locked and install motion detector lights.
If you see any suspicious activities call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
(Comment: It seems that these occurrences happen often over a period of years
and each time they do, someone suggests we set up a "Neighbourhood Watch". It never happens.
We had a strong Neighbourhood
Watch team in the early years of our development, when new residents in
new homes were gung ho, but eventually the momentum died. Part of the reason was that the OPP member from Rockland
who was our community services officer, was transferred to another location and was never replaced.
So the best advise we can offer is to be a nosey neighbour... discreet, but nosey. If you see anything suspicious,
call the police.
We have been suggesting for years that we should have a BJFH-Canaan-Joanisse community association, but that takes effort,
time and volunteers, and that too is unlikely to happen. - Ed.)
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| Blue Jay backyard rink makes the CTV scene...
The Melees |
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He shoots! He scores!
Brian Melee's backyard rink has made it into the CTV website. The television network is looking
for the best backyard rink in our region. The promotion has brought out a plethora of "contestants".
 He decided to make this backyard rink to fill a void in his Rockland neighbourhood. The
ice surface measures 40 feet by 60 feet.
"It was ready for hockey-lovers on December 15," says Melee, "and it offers plenty
of space for teenaged hockey players, and it's perfect for beginners."
More...
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 Blue Jay Ridge had its own sign
This "vertual" sign is the only one you will see, welcoming visitors to Blue
Jay Ridge. Why? Click here to read the story of the missing sign |
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 Deer
warning - Canaan Road!
If you are using Canaan Road as part of your driving
route, be on the look out for deer crossing the road.
Visitors to a local family hit a deer on Christmas Eve
just as they were coming to the top of the hill, seen
on the right. The deer warning signs were recently
installed because of the frequency of deer sightings.
There have been several deer and moose hits along
Canaan this year. It seems the deer was not seriously
injured in this latest incident. (Photo - Meikle)
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OPP conduct S.A.V.E. patrol
along Canaan Road
In the late Fall, 2010, the OPP S.A.V.E. team patrolled
along Canaan Road. They were advising motorists
of the rules pertaining to off-road vehicles. Their
presence came about as a result of a growing
number of complaints involving ATVs.
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February update
 (Christine Law - February 2010) A couple of young volunteers clean
off the outdoor skating rink at the Cathy Cain Park in Forest Hill.
Christine says that the conditions were very good. The ice was nice and smooth and there were very few bumps. There
were a couple of teenage boys clearing the snow and preparing to play hockey with friends.
There is a smaller rink attached to the big one which was also in pretty good condition. The changing shack was
tidy and very nice and warm, but had some vandalism on the inside with some inappropriate words on the wall.
"I've spoken to a couple of people from the neighborhood," says Christine, " and it seems the
going concern is the drainage along Oakwood. Friends of ours basement flooded just before Christmas and these are
not the first of our friends in the area that have experienced this."
Cchristine went on to say that they had a bad experience with the mailbox this winter - they froze up and were
inaccessible for a few days. The post office didn't fix the problem when they
said they would and her mail was not at the post office when said it would be. She had to melt her own mailbox
with hot water!! (Photo thanks to Christine Law)
(NOTE: To enlarge picture, do a right-mouse-button click and choose the "view
Image" option.) |
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Forest Hill residents make a face
A number of families from Forest Hill have added their "voices" to the ever growing Facebook
page. Some of the information is a little old, however the page was used during the recent
municipal election to post important news for and about Ward 5 candidates.You can check it
out under "Forest
Hill Friends and Neighbors". (You may have to register, but it free and easy.)
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Ward 5 Councillor Guy Félio
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Ward 5 Councillor for the City of Clarence-Rockland is Guy Félio . He lives in Blue Jay Ridge. He can be contacted through:
(613) 266-0023
Guy.Felio@gmail.com
www.RocklandInfrastructure.ca
Councillor Félio has included a "Calendar of Events" on his website, which should
be helpful to all residents of Clarence-Rockland.
The borders of Ward 5 extend east from Canaan Road to Brazeau Road and Champlain Street on the
east side of Clarence Creek. The northern border is Baseline Road and the southern border is Vinette Road from
Canaan Road to Filion Road, and Du Golf Road, from Filion Road, east to Champlain Street.
It is easier to understand if you look at the Ward 5 map.
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For City Council, Information, Councillors, Wards, etc., click here.
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May 26, 2011 - Third Ward 5 meeting with Councillor Guy
 Félio
 By Patrick Meikle
(NOTE: This information is based on
my comprehension of a meeting held almost entirely in the French language.)
(Clarence Creek Arena - Thursday, May 26, 2011) Discussions on road work, ditches, drainage
and esthetic clean-up, dominated the informal gathering organized by Ward 5 Councillor Guy Félio. Unlike
a similar meeting in Bourget, where councillors took flak over road conditions, Félio and his constituents
met in a warm and friendly atmosphere during a two and a half hour meeting held at the Clarence Creek Arena.
(The photo was taken as residents started to gather. Click on the picture for a larger view.)
One of the main results from the meeting: a request to have a "walk through" the village
organized to include Ward 5 Councillor Guy Félio along with Physical Services Director, Yves Rousselle.
The purpose of the "inspection" would be to take care of the many concerns that residents have for their
village. After highlighting
Nine out of the 12 people who were in attendance live in the 613-488 (Clarence Creek) exchange,
with one each from Rockland, Blue Jay Ridge and Wendover, the latter owning property in the village.
Councillor Félio started off the meeting with an announcement that work would soon be
starting on the completion of the road work that was begun and covered by last year's Federal Stimulus Program.
Then as the evening progressed, the councillor listened attentively and took notes. In general
the discussions included:
- "who supervised the road work last year?" asked one person, because the whole thing
was very disorganized.
- Road work and ditches (some $250 thousand has been set aside for ditches; some 20 Km of ditches
will be fixed, using the City's "shovel")
- Water in the ditches (who has the responsibility for the water that drains onto private land?)
- General repairs and clean-up (the area around the old pump house on Claude Street; a long crack
on Lavictoire Street; Hydro One and "Ma Bell" should clean up their act... they often leave litter and
unfinshed work.)
- Sidewalks (Many are difficult to navigate, especially for some retired home residents who use
wheelchairs.)
- Refuse and recycling (Hazardous materials and tires; there should be a "free day"
for metals.) (One person said that residents get two free tags when they pay their taxes. He suggested that these
tags should be used for anything a resident wants picked up regardless of the time of year... not everyone is around
during the annual fall pick-up, and the tags could be used for other items besides regular bagged garbage, ie.
metals, furnature, etc.) (Click here to read more on the Canaan Connexion refuse/recycling.)
- Dirty ditches (refuse and junk left behind by people and contractors; and refuse that is not
picked up by the city is often dumped along local roads.)
Other general comments that came out of the meeting:
- A recent article in LeDroit
newspaper stated that Russell Township was looking at ways and means to reduce costs
for garbage collection. The article intimated that Russell was in talks with Clarence-Rockland and other municipalities
to look at cost sharing. This article raised red flags with some residents, wondering if Russell would dump its
garbage in the C-R landfill. Councillor Félio advised that he received an early moring phone call from a
constituent concerned after he had read the article. Félio advised that this would not be happening and
that there had been some misconceptions brought about by LeDroit article.
- C-R Transpo Bus Passes: a couple of constituents asked about having tighter controls on selling
bus passes. Evidently some non-residents are abusing the system by passing themselves off as C-R residents, buying
bus passes, using the local Park & Ride lots and taking the buses in to Ottawa from Clarence-Rockland.
- A member of the Clarence-Rockland
Environmental Society (CRES), Danièle Vinette, said that we need a place where
people can drop off their used items... furniture, used baby equipment, etc. There is currently no such location
around Rockland and much of this material which could be recycled, is going into the landfill.
- To this idea, another person added that after the big community garage sale held on Victoria
Day in Rockland, much of the material that was not sold ended up in the bulk garbage containers hehind the local
stores.
- Fire Permits - a discussion on when and where fire permits are required and what kind of burning
equipment (fire pits, stoves, containers, etc.) should be used. There was also a comment that there was currently
a "burn ban" in the area due to the dry grass conditions (referring to a recent grass fire south of Ottawa.
A suggestion was made to clarify this with Clarence-Rockland Fire Chief, Pierre Sabourin. (Click here for a recent story we did.)
- Update on bylaw enforcement. Councillor Félio advised that the Bylaw Department will
take on a more pro-active role, working more quickly on complaints and uponh a visit to a resident, will lay out
in writing what a resident must do about bylaw infractions. Also, the Bylaw Department will no longer accept anonymous
complaints. Obviously they will respect the privacy and identity of anyone reporting bylaw concerns.
- Under updated policy, residents will be responsible to clean their own ditches.
Editor's Comment: As the only constituent from Canaan
Road/Blue Jay Ridge/Forest Hill area, I wondered why there were no other people from this side of Ward 5? Councillor
Félio advised that the meeting was well advertised in local publications as well as on his Infrastructure website an thefront page of the Canaan Connexion, but he could not advise why no one else showed
up. Do you have any suggestions why? If you are a resident of these burbs perhaps you sould share with us your
thoughts:
When asked by our councillor if I had any concerns about our BJFH quartier, I offered the following based on information picked up through the Canaan
Connexion:
- All-terrain vehicles (ATVs)/Dirt Bikes - A number of residents from Canaan Road to Joanisse
have contacted the Canaan Connexion to voice
their complaints about these vehicles tearing up local roads, byways and fields (We had a heavy presence of OPP
officers last year, but it appears that some areas are experiencing problems now that the warmer weather is returning.)
- Recycling - Many residents are still not recycling, or are only recycling alternate blue and
black box material on appropriate days, while throwing out recyclable material on the off weeks.
- Garbage in ditches - Canaan Road and many other local roads seem to have more refuse than ever.
(The annual Canaan Road clean-up has been delayed because of the wet spring. The ditches are too full of water
for residents to clean up properly.)
- Garbage and crows - Many residents are not using containers to put their garbage bags in. Consequently
crows, ravens and some animals are attacking the bags, strewing waste everywhere... afterwhich some residents are
leaving the waste around driveways and ditches.
- Why does C-R not pick up all the items and compostable material like Ottawa does? (We have an
annual pick-up of non-refuse material and C-R has not as yet instituted a compost program.)
If we have missed anything from the meeting, please send your comments on to:
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Councillor Guy Félio holds his first community
meeting in Clarence Creek
By Patrick Meikle
(NOTE: This information is based on
the portion of the meeting that the Canaan Connexion
attended, as well as my comprehension of a meeting held almost entirely in the French
language.) |
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Ward 5 constituents gather for a tête-à-tête with Guy Félio (center)
and Mayor Marcel Guibord (on his left)(Photo-Meikle)
(Clarence Creek, Wednesday, January 12, 2011) Sixteen people met with Ward 5 Councillor Guy Félio
and Mayor Marcel Guibord at the Clarence Creek Arena to discuss their ward concerns. Most were residents of Clarence
Creek proper, with at least one from Joanisse and one from Blue Jay Ridge.
Many of the concerns centered around sidewalks, ditches, drainage and roads, with particular
attention to Bouvier Road. The ditches need cleaning and drainage is a problem. The deep ditches with water pose
a real danger (to kids catching frogs) even in winter as the snow covered road does not always show where the edge
of the ditch is. One resident said that he was using his own tractor to clear the road in front of his home.
Councillor Félio advised that the Federal Government's stimulus program had been extended
so that the current road work (halted because of cold weather) would be completed this year. One resident said
that perhaps the roads could be fixed before the natural gas was introduced.
Former Ward 5 Councillor Philippe Saumure asked about a "Road needs analysis study"
that was on the books some years ago. Councillor Félio suggested that this could still be done, possibly
using summer students from second or third year civil engineering.
With respect to the roads, Mayor Guibord said that the work would have to be prioritized (throughout
the City) and said that a wall chart could be set up, with work priorities colour coded.
Saumure said that the plan has to be jelled and then has to be followed up. It can't be changed
every four years.
Saumure also made reference to the current state of council meetings suggesting that a "change
in the atmosphere" was needed.
Other discussions:
- Angle parking should be removed on Lemay Street. When large vehicles
park (SUVs) the sidewalk is being blocked by their front bumpers, making it difficult for pedestrians to pass (including
elderly residents of nearby Roger Seguin center, some who use wheelchairs.
- Closing of the Caisse Populaire - with the imminent closing of
this facility there will be no place for residents to bank. It was suggested that an ATM should be installed in
the village. Someone else suggested that the building would be a good place for the post office to move where they
could also have an ATM.
- YMCA activities - should be made available to local residents and
the idea of a shuttle service from the villages to Rockland could be set up.
- Community Cable Television (TVC22) - Many residents cannot watch the City Council meetings because they cannot receive the TV22 signal (either
because they do not have cable, or because the southern half of Clarence-Rockland is served by Eastlink. A suggestion was made to have TV22 supply the
local libraries with a DVD so that residents could borrow the DVD to watch the meetings. (NOTE: Mayor Guibord advised the group that he would be meeting with the TV22 manager later in the week and
that he would bring up the matter then.)
- What about the condition of Baseline Road
between Joanisse and Canaan? Many residents of Clarence Creek use this route daily and some continue east on Wilhaven
Drive. (NOTE: Drivers were alerted to the fact that the speed
limit on wilhaven has been reduce to 60 k/hr all the way through to Frank Kenny Road.)
- What is happening with Highway 174? Will it be widened? Suggestions
made that it was the City of Ottawa that was holding up the development of this process and that there was currently
an environmental study underway.(Someone suggested that it only took nine years for traffic lights to be put in
at Canaan and 174... in other words, don't hold your breath!)(NOTE: Félio advised that he has scheduled
a meeting with his counterpart in the City of Ottawa, Steven Blais, and that this item would be brought up.)
- It was noted that along-running request to have the trees and bushes removed from the ditches
in Blue Jay Ridge had finally been accomplished just his past two days.
- There was mention of downed street signs and running shoes on hydro lines.
One woman complained of the damage done to her vehicle because of the terrible condition of Landry
Street. She said she still had the large chunk of concrete that had created the damage. The councillor advised
her to contact Director of Physical Services Yves Rousselle and that he would alert Rousselle to her upcoming call.
One participant urged the people to use their councillor. He said that if they had a particular
complaint, there were probably several other people in the neighbourhood with the same concern. If they call City
Hall individually their information will probably go into a queue and may be lost, whereas if they call the councillor,
he is their representative at the council table and the concerns would be raised at a council meeting.
Councillor Félio suggested that they would meet again in two months. There was some discussion
as to how the information would be communicated to the residents - the City's website, the councillor's own website, the Vox
Populi in the Vision Newspaper? (May we also suggest the Canaan Connexion and the TV22 Facebook page.)
(NOTE: similar meetings have
been held in Bourget (Ward 8) with Councillor Diane Choinière and in Hammond (Ward 7) with Councillor René
Campeau. A meeting with André Henrie, Ward 2 Councillor, is sheduled for Wednesday, January 19 at the Chamberland
Centre (Rockland), 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. It is open to all residents.
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Previous News Stories
A Tribute...
...to our fallen soldiers.
Last soldier Killed:
Sunday March 27, 2011
Read more...
Canada's Fallen:
List of soldiers killed
in Afghanistan
Read more...
Fallen Canadian's :
Department of
National Defence
Read more...
A Blue Jay Ridge
(this is were Vincent
lived with his family)
resident and
former member of the
Canadian Armed Forces
flies the flag at half-staff
each time we lose a soldier
on active duty.
One of our former kids
served in Afghanistan.
Don't think we were not concerned!
More...
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Crockett Says:
This is a stoop and scoop community.
Please pick up after your dogs!
More...
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Click on the pictures to see an enlarged view.)
