Catégorie : Tribune-Express (Hawkesbury)

The parade would have left the fairgrounds and the parade would have roamed the streets of Vankleek Hill. Last Sunday, as the event was starting, the organizer of the event, Samme Putzel, learned that policemen could not be present to shut down roads.

As Samme explains, she first told Champlain Township about the parade six weeks before the event to arrange for road closures. The municipality told Putzel that it would make arrangements to ensure the safety of the people.

OPP Constable Kenneth Gray explained that they had received a request in June for road closures from the township. However, the OPP sent a message Friday, July 8, to the municipality denying the request due to the detachment not having enough staff over the weekend to cover the event.

It was only as the parade was due to begin that Putzel learned that the request had been denied. The municipality had not communicated with Putzel to warn her of the situation.

The people of Vankleek Hill out to watch the parade were forced to go to the fairgrounds to see the event.

The Butterflyway Project, launched by the David Suzuki Foundation in 2017, is a Canadian volunteer-led movement.

“The mission of this project is to grow pollinator patches in local areas with local flowers for pollinators to thrive” said Alicia Heinzle, children and youth librarian at the Champlain library and coordinator for the Butterflyway Project in Champlain.

The 31 volunteers in Champlain Township received toolkits and information on how to plant pollinator patches from the David Suzuki Foundation. The goal was to establish a dozen pollinator patches in Vankleek Hill and the surrounding areas. The Champlain Butterflyway Project received donations in seeds from Vankleek Hill Foodland and the local horticultural club helping them exceed this goal. This spring alone over 30 garden patches were planted

One garden can be found in front of the library on Main Street in Vankleek Hill. Another will be planted by schoolchildren at Curé-Labrosse Catholic Elementary School in St-Eugene.

The event raised around $5300 for the foodbank. Scotia Bank then provided a matching donation of $3000 for a total of approximately $8300. The cost of the event was covered entirely by sponsors, which allows all the profits from the $20 entry fee to be distributed directly to the Foodbank.

Outdoor concerts were given on the tavern’s patio from early afternoon to 11 p.m.

“What we try to do is address different age groups with the music styles, says M. Richard Charest, a member of the organizing committee. “In the early afternoon, music targeted older age groups while the late-night shows were meant for a younger generation.

Members of the Vankleek Hill Sports Club were on site, cooking hamburgers and hot-dogs to raise funds for their own association. Food was provided to the club by the Vankleek Hill Foodland.

This is the first time the event has taken place since 2019.

During a special session July 7 of United Counties of Prescott-Russell council (UCPR), Gorman tendered his resignation, effective this month. Eric Larocque was appointed interim administrator for the long-term care facility.

Gorman was hired in September 2019 as administrator for the PR Residence, located on Cartier Boulevard in Hawkesbury. He led the staff in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, including a severe outbreak of the disease during 2020 that resulted in complete closure of the facility to all public access. The disease claimed the lives of more than a dozen residents of the facility.

He was involved in the initial plans for the new PR Residence, now under construction on Spence Avenue, adjacent to the fire station.

Gorman cited personal reasons for his decision to resign as administrator. He received thanks from UCPR council and administration for his work.

“I’ve been working hard on the natural gas issue for East Hawkesbury, and I would like to see that through,” said Mayor Kirby, during a July 10 phone interview about his decision to see another mandate.

Kirby is the longest-serving mayor now sitting in office in the Prescott-Russell region. Besides seeing to completion the Enbridge natural gas extension to the township, there is one other matter he would like see finished as mayor.

“We got some provincial money, about $450,000, for the new community centre in St-Eugène,” he said. « I’d also like to see that done.”

Kirby also wants to be available to continue lobbying for funding help for the municipality with some of its road improvement needs. He also has one other major project wish that he still hopes to see come true if the township can get financial assistance from either the provincial or federal government.

« We need a new fire station, » he said.

« The sports complex gives an opportunity for the community to get together, » said Mayor Paula Assaly during a recent session of Hawkesbury council’s committee of the whole.

Nicole Macdonald and Alain Grégoire of Colliers Project Leaders, a consultant firm hired to review the status of the sports centre, presented council with an outline of the firm’s review plan for the facility.

The plan includes an online public survey through the municipal website during July to get comments from residents, both regular users of the facility and drop-in visitors, about programs and services offered now and suggestions about improvements to the building they would like to see. Meetings with local community recreation groups and clubs will also take place to get feedback on their needs.

MacDonald noted that the Robert Hartley Sports Complex review will answer three questions. First is what do residents of Hawkesbury want for their main indoor recreation facility, what features does it lack, and what opportunities exist to improve the programs and services offered?

The second question, MacDonald stated, is how much longer can the 40-year-old building continue to operate before it may need major upgrade work.

« How many more years can we expect? » she said, adding that a technical engineering study is necessary to assess the state of the existing structure.

This study will determine if the building can continue to serve with some additional renovation work and upgrading to meet present and future user service and safety needs, or if the town may need to start planning for future construction of a new facility.

The technical engineering study will include estimates of what improvements may be needed. That information will help answer the review’s final question about what options may be available for council and administration to consider.

Councillor Robert Lefebvre described the sports complex and other recreation facilities as « almost an essential service now » as shown during the past two years of the pandemic. He noted that these opportunities for residents of all ages to get out and enjoy some form of physical and mental relaxation were critical during the lockdowns.

Councillor Lawrence Bogue noted that public involvement in deciding the future of the Robert Hartley Sports Complex is essential as demands on the building’s facilities increases in the future.

« We’re going to have a lot of people in that building for programs and such, » he said. « The big thing is to get the people involved. »

From July 10-16, the Hawkesbury OPP will help improve driver safety through the Operation Safe Driver program, which was created in 2007 by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) to help reduce injuries involving large trucks, buses, and passenger vehicles due to unsafe driving behaviors. The Alliance says it’s important to drive carefully around commercial vehicles, which can’t stop as quickly and can’t see around themselves as clearly as regular cars.

This year will focus on speeding and unsafe driving behaviors, which have been a main factor in over 25% of auto deaths since 2008. Other dangerous driver behaviors will also be enforced, such as distracted driving, seatbelt safety, changing lanes, and reckless driving.

The Operation Safe Driver program also offers materials and resources to educate commercial drivers and new or unexperienced drivers. The materials will educate commercial drivers about common dangers and challenges they may face on roadways, such as distracted driving or getting cut off by passenger cars. New and inexperienced drivers will learn how to share the road with large trucks and buses.

Finally, the OPP would like to share five rules of thumb to abide by when driving. No phones, leave room and move over when possible, stop tailgating, always signal, and have all your paperwork readily available.

Between midnight and 1 a.m. on July 7, a zodiac style dingy was stolen from the Riverest Marina on Wharf Street in L’Orignal. The boat is described as a red and grey Bris brand dingy, approximately 15 feet long, with a 6hp Yamaha gas motor.

Les participantes et participants ont également l’option de participer de façon virtuelle les 22 et 23 juillet. Les participantes et les participants de la Baie Run peuvent choisir entre un parcours de 1 km, de 5 km, de 10 km ou un demi-marathon. L’heure de départ pour le demi-marathon est à 7h30, le 10 km est à 8h00, le 5 km est à 8h45 et le 1 km est à 9h45.

Les participants et participantes auront des puces de minutage pour toutes les distances. Il est à noter qu’il n’est pas obligatoire de courir, les parcours peuvent aussi se faire à la marche. Les trousses pour les participantes et les participants seront disponibles au magasin Sports Experts à Hawkesbury, le jeudi 21 juillet 2022, entre 15h et 2h ou au parc municipal de L’Orignal le vendredi 22 juillet 2022, entre 15h et 20h et le samedi 23 juillet 2022, entre 6h30 et 9h. Pour tous les détails et pour vous inscrire, veuillez visiter labaierun.com avant le 22 juillet à minuit. Il sera aussi possible de s’inscrire en personne le 23 juillet.

Sur le site, en plus d’une performance musicale de 50 PROOF, il y aura de la nourriture et des rafraîchissements. Il y aura aussi de la crème glacée et du café, gracieuseté des compagnies les Aliments Matrix et la Brûlerie Totem.

Des bières artisanales seront disponibles aux kiosques du restaurant Riverest. Plusieurs des commanditaires auront des kiosques sur place et si la température le permet, il y aura des structures gonflables pour les enfants.

Il y aura des prix pour les trois temps les plus rapides chez les hommes et les femmes dans chaque catégorie, ainsi que plusieurs tirages pour tous les participantes et les participants.

Le comité organisateur de l’événement est composé de nombreux bénévoles de la communauté et chapeauté par M. Patrick Lalonde, physiothérapeute et propriétaire de Lalonde Physio, Mme Geneviève Thibodeau et M. Sébastien Lalonde.

La première édition de l’événement annuel a eu lieu en 2019 et vise non seulement à encourager l’activité physique en famille mais vise également à soutenir une bonne cause, soit la Fondation de l’Hôpital général de Hawkesbury et district (HGH).

Patrick Lalonde explique l’importance de la Baie Run pour la communauté : « Lorsque j’ai décidé de revenir habiter dans ma ville natale c’est parce que je voulais redonner à ma communauté. En tant que professionnel de la santé, je préconise un mode de vie sain et actif. C’est ce qui a mené à la création de la Baie Run. Pour une quatrième année consécutive, les fonds amassés seront remis à la Fondation HGH. Tous les membres du comité organisateur ont reçu des soins de santé importants à l’HGH et nous sommes conscients de l’importance de soutenir notre hôpital régional pour que plus de services soient disponibles ici, à Hawkesbury, dans notre communauté. Nous sommes fiers de notre engagement car nous croyons à l’importance de redonner à notre communauté.

On July 6 at 4:40 p.m., Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers pulled over a vehicle on McGill Street in Hawkesbury and charged two people inside with multiple offences. The driver was charged for having a table sticking out of the back of the vehicle. The passenger, who was sitting on the floor, was charged with not wearing a seatbelt and not occupying a proper seat.

The OPP would like to remind drivers to secure all items being transported by car and to always sit properly and wear a seatbelt.