Catégorie : Tribune-Express (Hawkesbury)

Jonathan Wilson, Hawkesbury’s director of public works, provided council with a verbal report February 27 on the situation involving the site where the Catholic elementary school once stood. The Town of Hawkesbury now owns the property after purchasing the land from the Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est Ontario (CSDCEO) several years ago after the school was closed.

The building wss demolished and the town did an environmental assessment study (EA) of the grounds as part of preliminary preparations for listing it for sale to any interested developer. The EA report noted signs of some soil contamination by subsurface oil and other materials but confirmed that the school building that once stood on the site was not the source of the contamination.

A decision on the future of the property has been on hold since the first EA report. Wilson’s report to council Monday night was in response to a request from Councillor Yves Paquette for an update on the status of the Christ-Roi property.

The public works director told council that the original EA report had recommended a second environmental assessment study to determine the source of the contamination indicated in the first study. He also observed that a second EA would also help with determining the possible value of the property when the town does put it on the market for sale. He noted that any potential buyer would need to know all specifics about the land, including the sources of any contamination, to help determine what kind of protection might be needed in a development design to safeguard the site from any future problems.

 Several members of council also expressed interest in having the source of contamination to the property confirmed and also an update on the amount of money that the town has spent so far on the property since it was acquired from the CSDCEO.

Director Wilson and his staff will now prepare a more detailed report on the status of the Christ-Roi property, including a summary of the municipality’s expenses to date on the land, and an estimated cost for a second and more detailed EA study. Wilson indicated during a later interview that his department should have the report ready for council in April.

“I can confirm that the OPP has been called in following the death of a patient at Hawkesbury General Hospital,” stated Acting Sgt. Erin Cranton of the OPP East Division, in an email statement.

The death was reported to police on February 22.

Sgt. Cranton stated that the police investigation is “in the very early preliminary stages” and the cause of the person’s death has not been determined yet. The name of the individual is being withheld for now.

The OPP have determined that no members of the hospital staff is involved in the death.

The class worked in collaboration with Craig Cardiff, Canadian singer and songwriter, and his company Song Collab Studio, to animate and voice their book, The Story of Rosa Parks.  

The writing portion of the book was student-led, based on questions and discussions during planning sessions with the students, Pleasant Corners Public School (PCPS) teacher Stacy Schwendemann, Early Childhood Educator Anna Martin and Cardiff’s Song Collab Studio used hand-drawn student artwork, along with digitally-drawn illustrations and student narration to complete the digital storybook. 

The class had a final day of voice recording February 22, took part in a sing-along with Cardiff, and had serious discussions about kindness, treatment of others, and taking action on things that everyone can control versus what they can’t. 

“This class has been working very hard and it makes me so happy to get the privilege of sharing their hard work,” said Schwendemann. 

The class was joined by UCDSB Vice-Chair Corina Parisien and Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden (who grew up in Vankleek Hill) for the final day of voice recording and these discussions. 

“This real-world learning opportunity is a unique and special project,” said PCPS Principal Laura Kirby. “Valuable life lessons were discussed, and they have a digital version of a story as a reminder.” 

“I am very proud of this group of young learners,” said Parisien. “They are touching on many of the UCDSB Character Always traits: Responsibility, Fairness, Respect, Caring, Honesty, Generosity, Empathy, Courage, Perseverance, and Resiliency.” 

The PCPS Kindergarten class Story of Rosa Parks is available to view on the UCDSB YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpWiWv0de7M&feature=youtu.be.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpWiWv0de7M&feature=youtu.be

The Vankleek Cougars and the Gatineau-Hull Volant each won of the first two games scheduled between the two clubs in the best-of-seven opening round of the National Capital Junior Hockey League (NCJHL) playoffs.

Game One

Last Friday night’s opening game in the series between Vankleek Hill and Gatineau finished 7-4 for the Volant.

Gatineau dominated first period, getting on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal by Benoît Milloy during the first quarter of the period. Jérémy Marcotte extended the league by two more goals for the host team at the period mid-point, with assists from Samuel Lamarche and Mathis Villeneuve on his first goal and from Lois Flansberry on his second.

Maxime Laliberté put Vankleek Hill on the board eight minutes from the end of the period, with a goal assist from Cougars assistant captain Joshua Desjardins. Desjardins then added a second goal to Vankleek Hill’s total during the last three minutes of the period. Fellow assistant captain John Mahoney assisted on the goal.

Villeneuve added one more point to the Volant’s first-period total in the last thirty seconds of the period, with help from Lamarche and Louis-Philippe Legault.

Second period saw Gatineau extend its league by another point. The Volant got their fifth goal of the night in first five minutes into the play from the stick of Clément Gravelle, with help from Cédric Bertrand and Charles Antoine Boucher.

Cougars Captain Mikael Bissonnette got the scoring going again for Vankleek Hill with the team’s third goal near the mid=mark of third period. Assisting on the goal were Andy Lightle-Blais and Alexandre Chenier.

Thirty seconds after Bissonnette’s goal, Gatineau’s Villeneuve put the scoring gap between the two teams back at three points with the help of Lamarche and Marcotte.

Gravelle sccored the Volant’s final point at the period mid-mark, with assists from Boucher and Bertrand. Vankleek Hill’s Lightle-Blais scored the Cougars’ last goal of the night in the final two minutes of the game, with the help of Desjardins.

Splitting the goal-tending duty for Vankleek Hill last Friday night were Frederick Durocher-Bourdon and Jérémie Tessier.

Game Two

Sunday evening at their temporary home base in Hawkesbury’s Robert Hartley Sports Complex, the Cougars ensured that the series between them and the Volant would last for at least five games. Vankleek Hill beat Gatineau 6-3 in a game that saw power-play goal after power-play goal fly into the nets at each end of the rink.

Assistant captains John Mahoney, Joshua Desjardins, and Eric Skyba teamed up on a power-play opening to put Vankleek Hill on the scoreboard first during the first half of first period. Mahoney punched in the puck, with Desjardins and Skyba assisting.

Cougars Captain Mikael Bissonnette added another power-play goal to Vankleek Hill’s benefit at the period mid-mark with help from Skyba and Andy Lightle.

Nine minutes from the end of the period, coaches for both teams had pulled their goalies to add an extra man on the ice for scoring. The “even strength” situation finished in the Cougars’ favour with the team’s third goal of the game courtesy of Thomas Kelly, assisted by Brenden Easterbrook and Jonathan Campbell.

With goalies back in the nets, the period finished up at 3-1 on the scoreboard courtesy of a power-play goal for Gatineau during the last three minutes by Lois Flansberry, with assists from Étienne Champagne and Benoît Milloy.

Second period saw the two teams trade goals, with the Cougars getting theirs first on a power-play opportunity for Bissonnette early in the play. Assisting him were Desjardins and Skyba.

Close to the period mid-mark both teams had six men on the ice and empty nets. The situation proved advantageous for the Volant as Clément Gravelle scored Gatineau’s second goal of the night, with help from Mathis Villeneuve.

Third period was all power-play scoring with Mahoney extending the Cougars lead again four minutes into the play, with help from Desjardins and Bissonnette. Desjardins fired in the final goal of the night for Vankleek Hill at the mid-mark, with assists from Lightle-Blais and Skyba. Flanberry got the Volant their third and last point on a power-play four minutes from the end of the period. Wylliam Roy assisted.

Durocher-Bourdon guarded the Vankleek Hill net throughout Sunday night’s game.

The two teams are now confirmed for three more games in their series with the Volant hosting Game Three on March 3. The Cougars play host Sunday night in Hawkesbury. The fifth game of the series is March 8 in Gatineau.

Patrice Cormier, of the legal firm, Julien & Cormier, presented council during its February 13 session with a two-page summary report of the past two years of investigations by two previous integrity commissioners and also by the town’s own legal counsel of harassment complaints by members of municipal staff against Paula Assaly during her term as mayor of Hawkesbury.

Cormer’s firm was asked by the municipality’s current integrity commissioner Jean-Jacques Lacombe to conduct the review. The work involved examining the original 2020 investigation report of then-integrity commissioner John Saywell, then the two follow-up reports in 2021 by acting-integrity commissioner Valery M’Garry, and finishing with the 2022 review by Sophie Martel of the legal firm, Rubin Thomlinson LLP.

The Cormier summary noted the sanctions imposed on Assaly during her term in office as a result of the original integrity commission reports. Cormier recommended that council require the former mayor to provide a letter of apology to the person or persons who filed the original harassment complaint and that an official letter of reprimand be placed in the former mayor’s personnel file.

Council voted to accept the Cormier report for later discussion.

The Cougars have one game left in their regular season schedule. A win could make a difference for their fifth-place position in the league standings. They are guaranteed a berth in the playoffs when that begins in March.

The last week of games saw the Cougars clip the South Grenville Rangers 4-3 in an overtime match and hammer the Westport Rideaus 9-2. Saturday night in Clarence Creek, the Cougars and the Castors fought each other to a two-all draw.

Cougars against Rangers

The Family Day long weekend began with the Cougars on the road last Friday night against the Rangers.

The Rangers got on the scoreboard first with a goal by Mason Neelin, assisted by Toby Johnson and Blake Byrnes, during the last two minutes of first period.

The Rangers pushed their lead to 2-0 almost as soon as the second period began with Ethan Wooller popping a goal in during the first 30 seconds, with an assist from Colin Stacey. Three minutes before the end of the period Rowan Mcpherson punched in the first point for Vankleek Hill, with help from Zachary Bigras and Xavier Sauvé.

Third period Cougars assistant captain Joshua Desjardins tied up the score two minutes into the period, with assistance from Bigras and Jake Lalonde. Eight minutes later Zach White, aided by Stacey, broke the tie in South Grenville’s favour. During the final four minutes of the period, Andy Lightle-Blais tied the score back up, with help from Bigras and Desjardins.

The overtime period lasted just one second as Bigras fired the winning goal into the South Grenville net. Desjardins and Cougars captain Mikael Bissonnette assisted on the goal.

Cougars versus Castors

Saturday night in Clarence Creek, the Castors opened the scoreboard with a mid-mark goal in first period from Tristan Bolduc, aided by Xavier Brunet and Nicholas Stepto.

Three minutes into second period Xavier Sauvé, assisted by Zachary Bigras, tied up the score. A power-play goal 10 minutes later from Alexandre Charlebois, assisted by Nikolas Guindon, broke the tie in the Castors favour. During the last five minuntes of the period, Maxime Laliberté got his own power-play opportunity and tied up the score again. Fellow Cougars John Mahoney and Joshua Desjardins assisted.

Neither side were able to score during third period and the game finished two-all.

Cougars sink Rideaus

Sunday night at home at the Robert Hartley Sports Complex Arena, the Cougars hammered the Westport Rideaus 8-2, starting with a pair of first-period goals within two minutes, including one unassisted, by Assistant Captain Joshua Desjardins. Laliberté and Mahoney assisted on the first goal.

The first-period scoring for the Cougars continued throughout the second half of the period with Thomas Kelly, aided by Rowan Mcpherson, firing in the third point, followed two minutes later by Alexandre Chenier, assisted by Desjardins and Mahoney. Laliberté fired in a goal about four minutes before the end of the period, with assistance from Bissonnette and Mathieu Lévèsque. Cole Smith got Westport onto the scoreboard with an unassisted goal two minutes before the end of the period.

Second period saw the Cougars extend their lead by two more points with goals near the start of the period by Bissonnette and at the end of the period by Mahoney. Desjardins and Mahoney assisted Bissonnette while Desjardins and Lightle-Blais helped with Mahoney’s power-play goal.

   Third period belonged to the Cougars with a goal by Hayden Berryere, aided by Matthew Leaver, and an unassisted goal from Rowan Mcpherson.

The last game of the regular season for the Cougars is February 24 in Gatineau against the Volant.

Hawkesbury council decided during its Monday meeting which of three possible options for a tax increase would become part of the 2023 municipal budget plan. Treasurer Philippe Timbers presented his report on the potential impact of three tax rates that council members debated on during their mid-January review of the draft budget.

Last month council asked Timbers and his staff to evaluate the possible impact on municipal finances for three suggested tax rate options for the 2023 budget. The options were for 3.95 per cent, 3.5 per cent, and 2.95 per cent tax increases.

Timbers’ report to council noted that revisions to the first draft of the budget may create a shortfall in the 2023 budget plan that will have to paid for in the 2024 budget. If the tax increase for this year’s budget is 3.95 per cent then the deficit carried over into the 2024 budget would be $200,000. The shortfall is because of a municipal organizational review that must be done this year.

The other two options would require using between $52,000 to $115,000 in unused surplus money put in reserve from past budgets to keep the 2023 shortfall at $200,000. The 2024 budget plan would then have to cover that extra money in addition to the expected $200,000 shortfall.

During their discussion of the report, most council members favoured Option 1 for a 3.95-per-cent tax increase to keep the expected shortfall at $200,000. Councillors Antonio Tsourounakis and Jeanne Charlebois argued for a 3.5-per-cent increase and use of some surplus funds to cover part of the shortfall.

The final decision was for Option 1 and a 3.95-per-cent tax increase. Councillor Charlebois was the sole dissenting vote on the decision.

Council also approved the final 2023 budget figures. The final budget will be $34,000,544, including a capital works budget of $13.1 million. For the average homeowner in Hawkesbury, the tax rate increase will mean $74 more on the Hawkesbury portion of their property tax bill. Other residents may see higher or lower increases on their tax bills depending on the latest assessment of the value of their property.