Catégorie : Vision (Clarence-Rockland)

Not wanting to deal with the headache of an extra 30 centimetres of snow after the December 16 snowstorm, Arnold and his wife Jennifer, whose names the Vision has agreed to alter for their safety, turned to Facebook Marketplace to find a snow removal company willing to take the load off their shoulders and clear their Rockland driveway. As both suffer from health concerns that restrict their mobility, a snow removal service was necessary.

The couple were happy to hear back from Zeps Contracting, who posted its services on one of the largest Facebook groups used by people in Clarence-Rockland and the Ottawa area to find work and contractors. To find someone enthusiastically responding to their messages so late in the season and on the eve of a massive storm was a relief. After reviewing the price and contract, Arnold and Jennifer paid the required down payment and an extra amount for the company to remove the windrow after the plow passed.

But when the storm hit and the snow started piling up, Zeps Contracting never showed up. Numerous phone calls, texts and Facebook messages and more than 24 hours later, their driveway still wasn’t cleared.

“I thought maybe I was missed because I was a new customer,” said Jennifer. “So, I messaged the Rockland / Ottawa: I Need to Know Facebook group asking if anyone else got their clearing.”

Not soon after, Hunter Rombough, the registered owner of Zeps Contracting, called Jennifer and Arnold ,screaming at them and uttering threats of bodily harm. A scary situation for the couple.

“He calls, threatening myself, my husband, my home, my vehicles,” said Jennifer. “He says he’s coming with a group of people saying that I’m not going to leave the house without needing stitches. He knows where we live. We gave him our address.”

Not the only ones deceived

After calling the police and filing a complaint, Arnold and Jennifer returned to Facebook to warn others and soon learned there were many others who left in the cold by Zeps Contracting. As many as a dozen people had paid for a service that was never provided, for households ranging from Bourget to Orléans, and totaling thousands of dollars lost, including one person who hired the company to renovate their chip stand last summer. In fact, so many people were impacted they set up a Facebook group dedicated to helping those wronged by the company.

According to others who were scammed, Arnold and Jennifer’s experience was typical. Getting in touch with Zeps Contracting was easy and they were eager to help, but once a payment was made they were either nowhere to be found or performed a cursory one-time job. Any sort of follow-up or complaint was met with threats of violence.

OPP stated they cannot comment on any complaints reported, but said they “investigate and follow up on any reports made” and determine if any fraud has taken place.

Contractor says intensity of storm to blame

Through a Facebook messenger conversation, Rombough said a series of unfortunate events made him late to do some clients driveways, but he still got to them.

“I had over 30 driveways, my employee for the east end quit on me after the huge storm we had so I got stuck having to do them all, from Rockland to Baseline in Ottawa,” said Rombough, adding that road conditions and accidents slowed everyone down. “Every time I tried hiring someone to help me, they would not show up.”

Rombough claimed to be on the receiving end of threats as well, saying clients grew impatient despite assurances he would get to them eventually.

For those who lost money or cancelled their services with Zeps Contracting, Rombough said he intends on giving the money back.

Until then, the Facebook group against the company is still active and continues to grow, nearly doubling its membership over the last week.

The draft budget, which boasts a $50,000,000 operating and $25,000,000 capital budget, will be funded in part by a 3.89 per cent property tax increase. Originally, the draft budget called for a closer to five per cent increase, but was revised down during deliberations.

The budget sets aside considerable amounts for several infrastructure. Nine million dollars ($4.5 million from reserves and $3 million from grants) is currently set aside for road projects including repairing sidewalks, repairing Canaan Road and developing a traffic calming policy, among others.

The Falcons went across the Ottawa River during the January 8 weekend for the Québec Ringette Tournament in Pierrefond. They came back home with gold medals around their necks for their first big win of the season.

« The Falcon had been unsuccessful in winning any games during the regular season this year, sot hey were beginning to feel slightly defeated, » stated Eric Leduc, general manager for the team.

The first game of the tournament on the Friday night saw the Falcons lose to the 4Cité Stars. But that the last defeat for the squad.

Leduc noted that a « team-bonding experience » at their Montréal hotel « brought out the best in the girls » and that translated into a crushing 9-1 victory Saturday morning against the host team, the Pierrefonds Lynx. The Falcons went on to hammer the PCRA Power squad 11-4 in the afternoon. Leduc described the game as « a whole lot of fun on the ice » for the players who showed increasing confidence in their ability now.

The Falcons entered the Sunday finals in a rematch with Pierrefonds. Clarence-Rockland won the game 4-3 with a last-minute goal as the clock ran down.

« We can’t wait to see the FUN3-Théoret Falcons continue to showcase their teamwork during the regular season, » stated Leduc.

This season’s CR Falcons FUN3-Théoret team includes: Mariève Miville, Hope Beaupré, Riley Stam, Madison Levesque, Carissa Leduc, Makayla Leduc, Keylynn Fergusson, Malika Lacelle, Jade Théoret, Emalyne Stevens, Josephine Lopez, and Riley McDonnell. The team’s coaching staff includes Martin Théoret, Danielle Leduc, Dominik Lavictoire, Josée Chartrand, and Martin Lacelle.

Leurs derniers matchs du calendrier de janvier de la Ligue de hockey junior de la capitale nationale (LHJCN) ont fait passer les Castors de la troisième à la deuxième place. Clarence Creek a une chance de ravir la première place aux Raiders de South Grenville si le club peut récolter une autre paire de victoires et si les Rangers sont malchanceux lors de leurs prochains matchs ce mois-ci.  

Les Castors ont maintenant une moyenne de points de 0,750 avec 26 matchs joués jusqu’à présent cette saison et une fiche de résultats de 19 victoires, six défaites et un match nul. Les Rangers ont une moyenne de points de 0,792 avec 24 matchs joués et une fiche de résultats de 18-4-2.  

Au troisième rang du classement de la LHJCN se trouvent maintenant les Rockets de North Dundas avec une moyenne de 0,741 après 27 matchs et une fiche victoires/défaites de 19-6-2. Les équipes suivantes au classement sont Gatineau, Vankleek Hill et Saint-Isidore.  

Deux autres victoires  

Les Castors ont battu les Jets de Metcalfe 7-4 vendredi dernier, lors d’un match sur la route à Metcalfe.  

Nicholas Gaumond a marqué un tour du chapeau pour Clarence Creek. Ethan Bradley, Dylan Molughney, Jaddus Savoie et Jacob Servant ont terminé le tableau des scores des Castors avec des buts simples. Servant, Jack Thor, Cooper Hudson, Jacob Hill et Alexandre Charlebois ont aidé à marquer des buts.  

Dimanche soir à domicile, les Castors ont battu les Rockets de North Dundas 8 -2. Tristan Bolduc, Jaddus Savoie et Jacob Servant ont chacun marqué deux points pour Clarence Creek. Xavier Brunet et Nicholas Gaumond ont terminé le score avec des buts simples. Les passes décisives sont venues de Bolduc, Gaumond, Nikolas Guindon, et Corey Somers.  

Shane Morris a gardé le filet de Clarence Creek dans les deux matchs.  

Les Castors ont un match à l’extérieur le 20 janvier contre les Rideaux de Westport. Ils reviennent à la maison samedi soir pour accueillir Saint-Isidore.

Coming off the confidence of a strong showing against the Kemptville 73’s, the Nats travelled to the North Grenville Arena to take on the Hawks for their fourth match up of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 14, the Nats leading the Hawks 2-1 on the season. The Hawks took the game under control immediately, setting themselves up with 3-0 lead heading into the third period.

Xavier Laurent gave the Nats a short-handed goal to steal away the shutout, but the point was soon negated by the Hawks giving the away team the 4-1 win.

A home game the following Saturday did not prove any easier for the Nats as they welcomed the Smith Falls Bears at home, the number one team in the Robinson division.

The Bears quickly showed why the sit at the top of table, setting the tone with three unanswered goals in the first period and adding a fourth in the second before the Nats were able to find the back of the net with a Jonathan Swyer’s fifth of the season. Before the end of the second, however, the Bears were able to sneak another past Hadyn Gould.

Seemingly refreshed by the intermission, the Nats popped two in thanks to Patrick Lanthier and Jordan Prepszl. The flame didn’t last long before it was doused by two Bears goals within 20 second of each other to end the game 7-3 for Smith Falls.

Unfortunately, the schedule ahead won’t give the Nats much of a break. A double header against the Robinson divisions second ranked Renfrew Wolves Friday and Saturday, Jan. 20 and 21.

Rockland continues to stick to the middle of the table, 25 points off the top. The Cornwall Colts, behind the Nats in fifth place in the Yzerman division, are knocking on the door just three points behind the Nats’ 32, threatening to push them down to the bottom of the standings.

Shortly after 8 a.m. on January 17, officers from the Russell and Hawkesbury OPP detachments, with assistance from the East Region Emergency Response Team (ERT), responded to an incident at a local business located in the plaza at the corner of Laurier Street and Heritage Drive. Bystanders reported that a woman was behaving and driving erratically, and the heavy police presence was due to a report of a firearm, which was eventually found to be an imitation.

As a result, the 43-year-old woman was detained and charged with possession of an imitation firearm and dangerous operation of a vehicle. There are no further details of the incident at this time, and the woman’s intent remains unknown.

The plaza at 2768 Laurier Street is home to a pharmacy, a Domino’s Pizza, a salon, a dentistry clinic, a Pronature hunting and fishing store, and a daycare.