2011 Holiday Train

WOW! What a blast! More than 3,000 people joined us last night to welcome the 2011 Holiday Train. Despite the fact that the train got delayed in another community, everyone was able to enjoy the pre-train concert performed by The Stone Sparrows!  They were a great addition to the event and, I have to say, I was very impressed.

Remember their name, The Stone Sparrows, because they are going places!

On the train, the Brothers Dube and Canadian folk song icon, Valdy performed. Both were great and I  think Valdy made a great connection with the audience. Young and old were dancing to the tunes.

We have some pictures which we will post in the next day or so. We are also waiting to hear how the 3 food banks did with the donations. It is important that we all remember and be thankful how lucky we are and that we can spread that feeling around by donating to our local food banks so that others will have enough to eat this Holiday Season and beyond.

By the way, did you know that from December 1 to 15, the Clarington Public Library – your library – is going to credit $1 (to a maximum of $5) of the amount owed for every non-perishable food item donated.  If you have overdue books or other library materials, this might be a great time to return them and help the community! All food collected will be distributed across Clarington by local food banks—the Salvation Army and St. Vincent De Paul Food Bank in Bowmanville and the Clarington East Food Bank in Newcastle. This is the 3rd year for this program – I didn’t know that! Donations will also be happily accepted from those who don’t have any fines but lots of the holiday spirit!

To all of you who joined us last night and especially, to The Stone Sparrows, thank you for making the 2011 Holiday Train event a huge success.

 

Clarington is A Fire Safe Community

Last week, November 16^th to be exact, the Municipality published an interview with Chief Gordon Weir. We also created a graphic showing how fire calls were handled by Clarington Emergency & Fire Department. The message was “We are Safe!”

Last Friday (the 18^th of November) there was an incident involving a structural fire in the area of Third Street in Bowmanville. According to the event incident report here is the course of events:

18:01    Call is received & logged

18:03    Pumper 1 + 4 Firefighters / Pumper 4 + 3 Firefighters / Rescue 4 (Courtice) + 4 Firefighters  and Pumper 11 + 5 Firefighters are dispatched

18:08    Pumper 1 arrives on scene.  Scene is assessed by Incident Commander

18:12    Water Supply/Hydrant established

18: 14   Pumper 4 arrives on scene

18:16     Pumper 11 arrives on scene

18:29     Aerial 1 + 5 Firefighters is dispatched

18:32     Aerial 1 arrives

18:53    Veridian (hydro) on scene to shut off power to building

19:24    Durham Transit bus arrives to provide temporary shelter to fire victims

19:37    Fire Scene Under Control

Within 7 minutes of the alarm, 1 Pumper and 4 Firefighters are on scene assessing what needs to be done. Within the next 10 minutes Rescue 4 and Pumper 11 (including an additional 9 Firefighter) arrive.  Twelve minutes into the call, another pumper and 3 more Firefighters arrive on scene bringing the total number of Firefighters on scene to 16. As the fire spred to a neighbouring two-story building Aerial 1 is dispatched and its arrival brings our Firefighter count up to 21.

Although the actual cause is not known at this time, the fire is believed to have started in a garage on a vacant property adjacent to the building. A total of 6 adults and 7 children have lost their home in this single event. The Red Cross and Salvation Army were called in to provide victim support as well as support services to those Firefighters that were on scene. There were no injuries to residents or to Firefighters. Three cats were also rescued and are doing well. It should be noted that while all this was going on the Volunteers of Stations 1 & 4 were put on standby to protect the residents of Clarington.

Why is this incident interesting? Well, possibly because the fire suppression team was a mix of well-trained and highly professional full-time (career) and volunteer Firefighters. To the person on the street, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two.

Did you know that in out of 444 municipalities in Ontario, only 31 have full-time (career) departments?  I found this out on the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s website. Here is the breakdown of fire departments as of October 11, 2011 in Ontario:

Total # of Departments	462
Total # Full-time Departments	31
Total 3 Composite Departments	176*
Total # Volunteer Departments	255*

* Includes 1 Northern Fire Protection Department
** (Includes 49 Northern Fire Protection Departments

We want to assure our community that Clarington Emergency & Fire Services operate in accordance with Guidelines established by the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office. If you’re interested you can read more about this guidelines by going to  and clicking on Public Fire Safety Guidelines. If you are really into the subject, you can check out Fire Protection & Prevention Act (1997).

Clarington is safe and as we continue to grow and change, Council is committed to monitoring the provision of Emergency & Fire services and the safety of our community.

2012 Budget Orientation

The budget process is very interesting especially if you are NOT an accountant. The Municipal Treasurer, Nancy Taylor, is leading Council through the results of Clarington’s participation in the annual BMA study.

A detached bungalow in Clarington pays about $3,000 in taxes. That same property in Oshawa would pay $3,857 and in Niagara it would be$2,819. The average for municipalities with similar demographics as Clarington is $3,045/year. Relative to the net levy per capita, out of the 84 BMA study participants, Clarington ranks 34th. Other Durham Lakeshore communities rank 66th to  70th.

The challenge for Clarington is that we have a huge land area (611 sq. km – 12th largest in study group) and a low density (140 people/sq. km.) which can cause an increase in service costs.

Huh! The more we know!

Mayor Foster & the proposed Fortification By-law

I’m really hoping to use my Facebook page  to help to demystify some of the decisions that Council makes, because we don’t seem to be getting the message out to everyone as to why we’re doing some of the things that we are doing. Unfortunately, this update on the so-called “Fortification By-law” is a bit long for Facebook.

This should be a ‘warm and fuzzy’, something that makes you feel more secure in your home. The perception is that the By-law will prohibit residents from using devices to protect themselves and their property.  That is simply not so. If you can buy a security device in a retail store, window bars, alarms, locks, you name it, go ahead. You can use them. Simple as that.  Perhaps this excerpt from the report (Report CLD-026-11) helps:

“…it is not the intent of the by- law to restrict any and all security measures, only those which are excessive in the given situations. While fences with barbed wire and watch towers may be normal and necessary for a correctional institution, they are not needed for a private residence. The by-law will not apply to commercially marketed devices and equipment intended to provide a reasonable level of protection to the homeowner.

Anything designed or intended to restrict or impede entry into a building could be considered excessive…”

View the entire report by clicking HERE

So, why did we put the By-Law in place?  Frankly, for a couple of reasons. If a new neighbour moved next door to you and started installing bullet proof glass, concrete barricades and early warning devices, you might wonder if they were setting up some sort of less than desirable home business.  We are finally catching up to our neighbours in other municipalities that believe that police, or emergency services, should be able to get into structures if they really need to.

If you still have concerns, then add your comment here.

Thank you,

Adrian Foster, Mayor
Municipality of Clarington

Mosport Getting a Facelift!

This is from a media advisory issued by Mosport earlier to day.

Mosport International Raceway will have a new look when it opens for business in 2012.  The first arches were put in place on November 15 as the construction of the new tunnel between Corners 9 and 10 nears completion.  The tunnel will accommodate two-way traffic for tractor trailers as well as pedestrians.  

Since Canadian Motorsport Ventures (CMV), a group comprised of Orlando Corporation CEO and Chairman Carlo Fidani, Al Boughton, President and Managing Partner of Trailcon Leasing and Canadian road racing legend Ron Fellows, took over ownership of Mosport back in June, their immediate goal was to improve the experience for spectators, participants, race teams and corporate partners.

“This is just the first step to turning Mosport into a state of the art facility,” said one of Mosport’s owners, Ron Fellows.  “We feel that this necessary change as well as future projects will be well received for all involved as we strive to upgrade the foundation and rich history that Mosport already has.”

The new tunnel, which consists of 17 arches each weighing an impressive 37.194 kg each is an impressive 35.052 m (115’) in length, has an external width of 11.582 m (38’) and measures in at 4.3 m (14’) in height.

“This new tunnel along with our expanded entrance will allow Mosport to function much more efficiently for our existing events and will prepare us for future major events,” said Myles Brandt, President and General Manager of Mosport International Raceway.
Exciting times for motorsport enthusiasts in Clarington and beyond. From what I gather, this is just the beginning. Stay tuned!

Shop Local; Shop Smart!

Hear how “Shop Local, Shop Smart, Shop Halton Hills” has been working for this area of Ontario. From Ten Reasons to Shop Local first to the benefits of joint advertising dollars, Doug will share successes as well as challenges their campaign has faced since it’s inception. Also, the Clarington Board of Trade will share their experience with their Clarington Shop Local program.
Speaker: Doug Penrice, Economic Development Officer for Town of Halton Hills
Tuesday, November 15 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm
South Courtice Arena (1595 Prestonvale Road South, Courtice)

Contact Sandy Archibald at 905-263-2396 for details.

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