Star 96 Local News

It's possible a new subdivision could be going up in Pembroke's south End. Development group Jp2g Consultants have presented a concept plan to put up a 999 unit subdivision. Their plans include 577 single detached homes, another 180 town-homes and 242 apartment units as well as walking trails. They've presented the plan to Pembroke's Planning and Waterfront Committee, and council is also excited about the development.

The final design of the Deep River School Project has been approved by the school board. The Renfrew County and District School Board says the plan includes Mackenzie High School being converted into a Junior Kindergarten through grade 12 school. Morison Public School students would move into the new school for the 2011-2012 school year; however,the Ministry of Education still needs to give their ok

March 9, 2010

 

The Pembroke Block Parent Committee is discontinuing in Pembroke due to a lack of volunteers in the community. The program had been in limbo during the past decade, as the committee lost volunteer members and Block Parents in the community lost interest. In 2008, a small committee of four attempted to revive the program, with disappointing results. If anyone in Pembroke is interested in starting up a new Block Parent Committee to continue the program, they are asked to contact Cst. Dillon Gerundin, Community Services Officer for the Pembroke Police Service at 613-732-5769, extension 2132.

A local girl from Pikwakanagan has carried the torch for the Paralympic Games in Vancouver. Justine Belair was a paralympic torchbearer on Parliament Hill. Justine, who is from Pikwakanagan and is not a paralympic competitor, was selected as a representative of Canada's Aboriginal communities. Starting from Ottawa, more than 600 torchbearers will carry the flame leading up to the start of the Paralympic Games in Vancouver, March 12th to 21st, 2010.Lighting of the Paralympic Flame during a ceremony in Ottawa involves torchbearers who represent each province and territory. This relay is distinct from typical relays as it will happen in and around the Celebration Communities. The relay started in Ottawa on March 3rd.

The Pembroke Regional Hospital Foundation and the BMO Bank of Montreal are teaming up to raise money for the Foundation. On now, if you head to the Bank of Montreal in Pembroke and fill out an application for a master card, BMO will donate 50 dollars to the hospitals foundation. The branch is hoping to get 500 applications, which would mean a nice hefty donation of 25 thousand dollars.

The Pembroke Regional Hospital Board of Directors is looking for members. Ideal candidates must be prepared make a significant commitment for a period of up to three years, have the knowledge, skill and experience that will enable them to contribute to the hospital, and reflect the diversity of the community we serve. Applications are available online on the hospitals website or by calling (613) 732-3675, ext. 6172. The deadline for applications is March 24, 2010

Pembroke's Algonquin College  has raised $40,000 for their new Campus and the Rotary Club of Pembroke made a 25 thousand dollar pledge all in one night.  During a fundraising event earnings increased when the Rotary Club of Pembroke announced it was pledged $25,000 to the college's fundraising effort, making it a $65,000 night as the local campus works towards it community capital campaign goal of raising $2.5-million.

The City of Pembroke wants to remind residents that City employees will identify themselves with photo ID if they need access to their properties. This reminder comes after the municipality received complaints about salespeople who may have been misrepresenting themselves as working for the City as they go door-to-door offering to test drinking water. This is usually followed by a sales pitch for a water filtration system. Mayor Ed Jacyno said the City has been receiving calls about the water company and wants the public to know the City has nothing to do with the situation.

There's new technology at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School. E-mail, internet forums and instant messaging are not new concepts to most computer-savvy grade 7 students, but at selected Catholic schools in the region, they have now been introduced as a welcome part of the curriculum. Students at the school in Renfrew have been taking part in a pilot project which couples traditional teaching practices with online technology. It's described as a virtual classroom website, complete with a handy homework list for quick reference posted in the news section, a "locker" for saving assignments and noteworthy website links, and a discussion area. The concept is designed to provide more opportunities for independent learning since assignments can be started at school, saved to the locker and finished up at home.

Renfrew Nippissing Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant says residents should be very pleased with the current federal budget. Gallant says there's a lot in the budget that will affect the area, including $300 million on a cash basis to support AECL's operations, the defence budget will continue to increase meaning more jobs in Petawawa and there will be more resources for EI benefits to support those who have lost their jobs to get training and addition help getting jobs.

Local Pregnancy Support Services is getting a boost! Their First Annual Soup Sensations fundraiser brought in 15 hundred dollars for the local support services. The money will be able to help cover costs of pregnancy tests, counseling and baby food. The services offered by the local organization are fee and fundraising is needed since they are not supported with any government funding.

Local MP Cheryl Gallant is touting the recent throne speech from the federal conservatives. Gallant says the speech covers everything from farmers to forestry workers, AECL energy workers, hunters, seniors, soldiers and veterans. Gallant adds she's pleased that the commitment has not changed by the government to support legislation to repeal the wasteful and in-effective long-gun registry that targets law-abiding farmers and hunters, not criminals.

The budget will come down this afternoon and word is Atomic Energy of Canada will be getting 400 million dollars. The troubled nuclear energy firm hopes to sell its Candu reactors division and get repositioned in the industry. The government's fiscal plan includes 19 billion dollars in previously announced stimulus. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says the Economic Action Plan will be ended March 31st of next year.

A Deep River man has been missing for a month and a half and there are still no answers and no clues to where he might be. 41 year old Lachlan Cranswick was last seen leaving his job at Atomic Energy of Canada on January 18th. The home of Cranswick was found unlocked with his wallet and personal items inside so the OPP Renfrew County Crime Unit is treating the case as a missing person's investigation but don't suspect any foul play.

Renfrew Nippissing Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant is pleased to confirm a federal government commitment for short line rail infrastructure funding.  Through Canada's Economic Action Plan the government of Canada will support funding proposals that include applications submitted for short line rail projects. Gallant supports the railways and doesn't want all of them to be abandoned adding the province needs to get on board by signing the Canada-Ontario Provincial/ Territorial base fund agreement to unlock millions in infrastructure spending.

The Renfrew County District School Board is receiving one time funding to keep a numeracy facilitator on staff for next year. The School Board received 32 thousand dollars to keep the facilitator. After the 2010-2011 school year the board will have to find another way of funding the position.

More discussion on endangered species in Ontario is taking place. Renfrew County is inviting anyone interested to get together and talk about the provinces new Endangered Species Act with provincial officials. On Monday March 8th there will be an open house and information session dealing with habitat regulation under the act. The meeting will be held in the Cobden Legion from 2-7PM.

A Golden Lake man is trying to avoid a trial as he gets ready for a judicial pretrial. Golden Lake's 25 year old Ryan Guthro made another appearance in a Pembroke court room and has had his judicial pretrial set for March 23rd. He's facing first degree murder charges in the death of Ashley Commanda this past summer.

Pembroke City Council is giving the green light to some projects included in their Capital spending for this year. 2.23 million dollars in projects have been approved including the Pembroke Street Bridge. Council gave the ok's ahead of the Capitol Budget so tenders can be submitted and work can begin sooner rather than later. The approved spending is just 40 percent of the capitol budget.

The fire is out and the investigation begins. A 100 year old barn, burned to the ground last night in Rankin, in a blaze that lit the sky and could be seen for kilometers. Firefighters were called out to 28 B-Line Road just after 7 o'clock last night. A man who was living in the barn was not harmed, escaping without injury before calling 911.

Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Renfrew is launching the schools New Playground Activity Leadership Program. The Safe Schools Special Assignment Teacher Cheryl Spotswood says there are three key components to the program, to reduce playground bullying, foster more physical activity on the playground, and develop leadership skills. The motto during recess playing games is there's always room for one more.

The government is now accepting applications for the New Horizons For Seniors Program Community Participation and Leadership Funding. The deadline is April 16th and Renfrew Nippissing Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant says eligible activities are projects that involve the active engagement of seniors in the social well-being of their communities. For example, seniors could: reach out to isolated seniors; mentor or support others in their community; provide opportunities for intergenerational learning; or get involved in important community issue. Grant funding is up to 25 thousand dollars.

Six people escaped injury after being involved in a two vehicle collision outside Pembroke last night. The Pembroke Police Service was called just after 8:30 Sunday night to Boundary Road and Bennett Street where a green jeep rolled onto its roof and a silver ford focus came to a stop in a snow bank. Three people involved in the accident were taken to the Pembroke Regional Hospital as a precaution.

The Ottawa Valley Tourist Association (OVTA) is the proud winner of the Ontario Economic Development Award in the "Technology" category. The Ontario Economic Development Awards took place February 4th, in Toronto with award presentations made by Ontario's Lieutenant Governor David Onley. The OVTA took top honours in the "Technology" category for their new database-driven dynamic website, http://www.ottawavalley.travel/  The ceremony recognizes winners and honourable mentions for their efforts in promoting their communities for location and tourism opportunities. Economic development initiatives are also judged as part of the process.

Heavy snow and freezing rain have knocked out power to more than 4,700 Hydro One customers in eastern Ontario. The utility says service to 730 customers in the Cobden area is expected to be restored quickly. However, another 4,000 homes in the Arnprior, Winchester, Vankleek Hill, Perth, and Kingston  areas may not have service back until later in the morning.

On the heels of the announcement that Atomic Energy of Canada has completed 43 percent of repairs to the NRU reactor in Chalk River they're also saying two of their employees were exposed to radioactive materials recently. The two incidents took place over the last week and Manager of Site and Community Affairs Patrick Quinn says the two employees were not exposed to dangerous levels of radioactive contamination.

An HST seminar is being held today in Pembroke ahead of the new legislation taking effect. The seminar will discuss what the Harmonized Sales Tax is, as well as the HST transition. The Community Futures Development Corporation of Renfrew County in partnership with the Canada Revenue Agency is hosting the information session. This summer both the GST and PST will be rolled into one.

A fire has destroyed Mumford's Restaurant on Calabogie Road in Calabogie. Fire crews were called out to the scene around one o'clock yesterday morning. The gas station portion outside of the restaurant did not sustain any damage however the restaurant is completely gutted.  The cause of fire has not been determined yet.

An all new Well Woman's Clinic is now open in Pembroke. The Ottawa Valley's first woman's clinic has opened in the office of Doctor Steven Uttley. Dr. Ginette Rainville, nurse practitioner Kelly Walsh and registered nurse Sally Graham are running the clinic. The Well Woman's Clinic will hopefully help woman who don't have a family doctor. So far the clinic is open Wednesday evenings from 5pm until 8pm.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited says a repair team is working around the clock to get the nuclear reactor in Chalk River, back on line quicker than scheduled at the end of April. The N-R-U, which produces isotopes used in 80 per cent of medical nuclear diagnostics and treatments, has been down since May and the repairs are 43 percent complete to date.

Algonquin College continues to fundraise for their new campus, Renaissance Square, and their latest event, College-Opoly is quickly approaching. With the event just over a week away Giant Tiger has jumped on board as a major sponsor of the event and will sponsor the "Boardwalk" square.  "Park Place" sponsors include Mulvihill Drug Mart, the Pembroke Downtown Development Commission, Pembroke Mall, St. Jean Flooring and Dr. James Gallant as well as Lou and Lisa Hammell. College-Opoly will be held at the Pembroke Armouries on Saturday, March 6th.  Eight teams have made a $5,000 donation to the College's capital campaign and will be registered in tournament play for the opportunity to challenge the Canadian Monopoly Champion, Will Lusby of Ottawa.

The 3rd Annual Seedy Sunday in the Ottawa Valley is almost here. The event will take place on March 7th at Fellows high school from 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon.  Gardeners, seed vendors, local food producers, growers of heritage seeds and native plants, organic practitioners and environmental groups come together where they can learn from one another, exchange ideas and seeds, and purchase seeds and plants in a fun social setting. Seedy Sunday is designed to educate, learn and promote local food, more sustainable methods of growing and the preservation and use of heirloom, organic and open-pollinated seeds. It's free to get in so just bring your seeds!

The City of Pembroke, Economic Development, Recreation and Tourism department is sending a friendly reminder to bid on your favourite Snowman hanging in Downtown Pembroke before the silent auction closes on February 28. The silent auction for the first annual Parade of Snowman Decorating Competition has been open since February 3, 2010 in collaboration with SnoSpree. You can currently view the actual Snowman in Downtown Pembroke, where they are currently on display, compliments of the donated efforts of Dagenais Tree Services. To bid on these Snowman visit www.PembrokeFestivals.com.

Local Federal Liberal candidate Christine Tabbert recently attended a roundtable on Parliament Hill to address the need for a secure supply of the medical isotopes needed to treat cancer and cardiac patients. Tabbert says the Harper government still has no plan for the future of Chalk River Laboratories and no plan to secure a steady supply of medical isotopes to ensure that Canadians have access to critical medical procedures. Tabbert adds the event featured a panel of non-partisan experts on nuclear physics and nuclear medicine who discussed securing a stable supply chain of medical isotopes, and the short, medium and long-term impact of the medical isotope shortage. Numerous other sitting MPs and Senators, and members of the public including the local Deep River and Chalk River communities, also attended.

Seven weeks of training in the Mojave Desert ended this week for 3700 Canadian soldiers participating in Exercise MAPLE GUARDIAN, the last major training event before Task Force 1-10 deploys to Afghanistan. The exercise, led by 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG), involved one of the largest strategic moves of soldiers and materiel by the Army in recent years. Fort Irwin was chosen as the location for the exercise based on three factors; similarity in terrain to Afghanistan, unequalled training facilities by the U.S. Army, and weather conducive to meeting the training goals. All of the training was designed to prepare the soldiers to conduct operations in areas with both friendly and hostile civilians, insurgents, and media, with a particular focus on undertaking operations in partnership with Afghan National Security Forces. All those involved should be home in CFB Petawawa by the end of the week.

A crisis line for children's mental health has been launched in Pembroke. The new service will ensure that children, youth and families have access to children's mental health service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can call 1-877-377-7775 and you will be connected with a trained professional. The official Launch of the Child Youth and Family Crisis Line for Eastern Ontario took place yesterday at the Phoenix Centre in Pembroke.

The grace period is over and the Pembroke Police Are Now Issuing Fines for Cell Phone Use While Driving. You are being reminded that hand-held cell phones and other wireless devices while driving in the province is banned. The new fixed fine is $155.00 which is to be issued to anyone caught breaking the distracted driver law. So far this week two fines have already been handed out.

The official recount is in and a strike has been averted at the provinces colleges including our local campus of Algonquin College. The Ontario Labour Relations Board announced its official count of all ballots cast in a new contract offer from management shows a slim majority of 51.45 percent in favor of the deal. A few things will change of the colleges' staff including a 5.9 salary increase over three years.

After a brief court appearance yesterday 25 year old Ryan Guthro has been scheduled to return to court on February 26th. Guthro is charged with first degree murder in connection with the death of Ashley Commanda in Golden Lake. Guthro will remain in custody while his Council hopes they will set a date for a judicial pretrial. Council is hoping a resolution can be reached there without going to trial.

A man has been arrested and charged in Renfrew after a string of spree spray painting all around the town. 22 year old Kyle Mills was arrested and charged with 9 counts of mischief under 5 thousand dollars. The areas investigated included the Railway, Xavier, Lynn, Raglan and Plaunt Streets. Mills has been released on a promise to appear in court on March 24th.

Renfrew Victoria Hospital would like to remind you that paid parking is now in effect on all hospital property. Assistants are on site to help those who are unfamiliar with the pay machines and they are also posting reminders on cars that do not display a parking pass. Tickets are not being issued at this time, but will be if needed.

Expanding highway 17 has not been forgotten. MP for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke Cheryl Gallant says she has accepted a request by the provincial Minister of Transport to continue to champion the campaign to expand the highway to our federal government. In the past month Gallant says she talked to Federal Transport Minister John Baird about Highway 17 and says he agreed that once the next step, which is phase 2 of highway 17 re-construction from Campbell drive west of Arnprior to Renfrew is completed, the province must get on board and include the next phase of construction, for highway 17, into the provincial 5-year plan for new highway construction.

It was a great weekend at the Bowl Like the Blind Bowlerama! They raised more than 2,800 dollars on Sunday as 50 people took part, breaking last year's fundraising total and this year's goal! Sunday's fundraiser was dedicated to the late Larry Black who had hosted the fundraiser before dying suddenly this past summer.

The Upper Ottawa Valley OPP have sent the burned out vehicle found on Trail Blazer Road last week to Orillia to their headquarters for further investigation. Human remains were found in the vehicle and the investigation is being treated suspiciously. The vehicle was reported just after 5 o'clock last Wednesday on Trail Blazer Road, which runs between Lake Dore Road and Burchat Road.

A car fire in North Algona has led to an investigation after it's believed the remains of a person were inside. The car was found on Trail Blazer Road which runs between Lake Dore Road and Burchat Road. The Upper Ottawa Valley OPP was called out just after 5 o'clock in the evening on January 10th. Anyone who knows anything about the blaze is being asked to contact the OPP.

The Upper Ottawa Valley OPP are looking for any sign of the whereabouts of Eganville resident Robert Verch. The 41 year old was last seen at the Eganville Snowdrifters Club on the 10th of February at 8:30 in the morning. The last time Verch was seen he was driving a silver 2001 Toyota Highlander with licence plate number BFSJ999. He's described as 5'8", 230 pounds, with short light brown, balding hair. The Upper Ottawa Valley Detachment of the OPP is continuing to investigate with assistance from the Eastern Region Crime Unit. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Robert Verch is asked to contact the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

The Renfrew County Catholic District School Board is making schools safer. They have changed school policies so they are now in line with new provincial requirements. As of the start of the month the Keeping Our Kids Safe at School Act began, which requires all school staff report serious incidents that could lead to suspension or expulsion. The reports are made to the principal, who will inform the parents of the involved students.


February 11, 2010

 

Change is in the air for The Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative as their annual general meeting quickly approaches. This Saturday they will host their third annual general meeting in Pembroke and a few of the board members will be stepping down so anyone interested in the posts is invited out. Everyone is welcome to hear about the last year of operation, sign up as a member, and learn about the positive impacts the Ottawa Valley Food Co-operative is having.

It's classes as usual at least for now. Algonquin College's Pembroke Campus has voted 55 percent in favor of the last contract offer presented to them. Meanwhile across the province it's too close to call. The unofficial early results show that 51 percent of college faculty voted in favor of the new deal but the Ontario Labour Relations Board will review all votes cast and release the final results later.

While some municipalities have restricted shopping hours on Sunday's, Petawawa has decided they'll stay the course. A request was made by Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Petawawa that shopping hours be limited and reduced from noon to 5 pm on Sunday's. Petawawa businesses are permitted to choose whether or not to be open and their hours and that's just how the town of Petawawa is going to keep it.

The ecosystem and job losses are the main concerns of Renfrew County after reviewing provincial plans to limit logging in Algonquin Park. The renfrew county development and property committee looked at the Joint Proposal for Lightening the Ecological Footprint of Logging in Algonquin Park, and is now recommending that the Provincial Natural Resources Minister not accept it. The development and property committee is worried about the protection zones going from 22 percent of the park to 54 percent of the park.

The Renfrew Victoria Hospitals "Tree of Lights" brought in more donations than expected. The fund-raising campaign has now exceeded the 100 thousand dollars mark with the fund still open for further donations. The focus of this year's campaign was the funding of the new CT scanner which went into action at RVH in October. The current Tree of Lights donations take the overall CT fund to more than $700,000, which is within reach of a $1-million goal to support the new diagnostic service. Donations are being accepted into March.

Don't expect to see wind turbines in Pembroke any time soon. The City of Pembroke's planning and waterfront committee is not including the wind turbines as a permitted use in residential areas under their updated comprehensive zoning bylaw. Once the bylaw takes effect if you want a private wind turbine installed you will have to go through a rezoning process, and get the ok of both council and your neighbours.

College teachers across the province including Pembroke's teachers at Algonquin College - vote on a contract offer today. The colleges say it's their final offer and vow not to return to the bargaining table if it is voted down. The instructors have set a February 17th strike date -- a move that would end classes for 200-thousand full-time students. Last month Pembroke's campus of Algonquin College voted against a strike.

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