Mar - OSCA

THE
OSCAR
The Ottawa South Community Association Review
l
The Community Voice
YEAR 44, No.3
www.BankDentistry.com
613.241.1010
MARCH 2016
OOS MOOSE CAPTURE CAPITAL WARD
CUP!
ee story on page 7
S
Councillor David Chernushenko, Moose Manager (and OSCAR
correspondent) David Wylynko and - in blue - the members of the OOS
Moose, with the Capital Ward Cup. Congratulations to the OOS Moose!
PHOTO BY JOHN DANCE
Women’s Daynetworking Event
Wine & Cheese
Networking Opportunities
Silent Auction
Special Guest Speakers
Sunday, MARCH 6 7-9:30 pm
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Wed. March 2, 12:00
Thurs. March 3, 19:00
Old Ottawa South Firehall (260 Sunnyside Avenue)
Tickets are $25
ava il a bl e o n l i n e a n d by p h o n e at
www.oldottawasouth.ca 613.247.4946
Th i s ev e n t i s g e n e r o u sly s po n s o r ed by : Ilia Fabbri
Sales
Representative
613.720.4542
ilia@royallepage.ca
Doors Open For Music (DOFM) Sanctuary In Sound: Trinity Western
Chamber Choir, Southminster United
Child Safety Awareness Community
Meeting, Hopewell Public School (Library)
Sat. March 5, 11:00
World Day of Prayer, St. Giles Presbyterian
Sun. March 6, 18:00 - 21:30
OSCA First Annual Women’s Day Event,
Firehall
Wed. March 9, 12:00
Wednesday, March 9, 12:00 DOFM Variations On Corelli: Magda Boukanan,
piano, Southminster United
Meeting of the OOS Garden Club:
“Hydrangeas in the Garden”, Firehall
Mon. March 14, 19:00
Wed. March 16, 12:00
Sat. March 19, 16:30
Sun. March 20, 12:00
Wed. March 23, 12:00
Sat. March 26, 10:00 - 12:00
Wed. March 30, 19:30
DOFM - The Baroque Affect, Southminster
United
Franz Schubert’s “Die Schöne Müllerin,”
Trinity Anglican
Tibet Film Festival, Mayfair Theatre
DOFM - Un Moment D’éternité: Duo
Arietis plays music of transcendence,
Southminster United
Create a Patchwork for the “I, Canada”
Project, Sunnyside Library
Piano Recital “Horowitz in Moscow” with
Maxim Bernard, Southminster United
To add events or see the latest listings, go to the online calendar at www.oldottawasouth.ca
NEXT OSCAR Deadline: March 18
THE OSCAR
Page 2
l
MARCH 2016
Possible Earlier Construction of Simplified Canal Footbridge
The new design for the proposed Fifth-Clegg footbridge features a straight-across span with a switch-back ramp and stairs on the east side and a straight
ramp on the Glebe side. IMAGE: CITY OF OTTAWA
By John Dance
The possibility of advancing
construction of the canal footbridge
linking Fifth Avenue and Clegg
Street was well received at an early
February open house hosted by
Councillor David Chernushenko;
however, a number of attendees
suggested improvements to the
bridge’s simplified design.
Some attendees expressed hope
work would begin even earlier
than fall of 2018 as mentioned by
Councillor Chernushenko, but most
were pleased with the possibility
of advancing the work from the
previously scheduled 2020-2025
period that had been approved in the
city’s transportation master plan of
2013.
The advanced scheduling is
possible because of the commitment
of new Ottawa Centre MP Catherine
McKenna to recommend that the
new federal infrastructure program
support the footbridge, and Ottawa
Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi continuing
his endorsement of the project. Ms.
McKenna endorsed construction
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of the bridge during the election
campaign and, since being elected,
has discussed advancing the project
with Mayor Jim Watson and
Councillor Chernushenko.
The footbridge will provide Old
Ottawa South residents living in
the neighbourhoods bordering
Riverdale with a safer and more
convenient cycling and pedestrian
access to Lansdowne Park, the Glebe
and beyond and will also provide
the missing link for an east-west
midtown active transportation route.
“We’re well past the point of
asking the question will this project
be built,” Councillor Chernushenko
said. “There is good reason to believe
other levels of government will
support the project.”
The idea of a bridge over the canal
in the stretch between the Bank
Street and Pretoria bridges has been
around since 1907 when the terms of
amalgamation between the village of
Ottawa East and the city of Ottawa
called for a bridge at Fifth and Clegg.
Over the intervening 109 years there
have been many other proposals and
during the last decade a number of
residents of the Glebe, Old Ottawa
South and Old Ottawa East have
vigorously made the case for a
footbridge.
The challenges have been
multi-jurisdictional needs for the
site, and the related high costs of
satisfying needs such as providing
a “navigation envelope” of 25 by
6.7 metres on the canal. After two
years of study, in 2012 the city’s
environmental assessment for the
bridge recommended a $17.5 million
structure.
The new design is now a “straightacross” span with a long ramp on
the Glebe side and the originally
proposed “switch-back” on the east
side. The design sees the bridge
spanning both the Canal and Colonel
By Drive and, on the west side, it
would go over the middle section of
the Lily Pond north of the Canal Ritz
restaurant. The redesigned bridge
will no longer have a wide, lengthy
and curved mid-span viewing area,
a change lamented by some of the
attendees.
The proposed changes result from
“value-engineering” of the original
curved structure and, according
to senior project manager Craig
Anderson, will result in “significant
savings;” however, no specific
savings were cited at the open house.
Councillor Chernushenko also spoke
of the desire to simplify the design to
avoid the sort of complications that
plagued and increased the cost of the
Airport Parkway footbridge.
Old Ottawa South users of the
footbridge will access the new bridge
by either the stairs or the ramp
located between Echo Drive and
Colonel By Drive just north of Clegg
Street. They will then proceed across
the canal, go over the Lily Pond then
take a long ramp that ends almost at
Fifth Avenue.
Attendees at the open house made
several suggestions to improve
the new design’s functionality
and compatibility with the canal.
Reinstating safe viewing areas at
mid-span was suggested by several
people as were stairs at the northern
ends of the east-side switchback and
the west-side ramp. Stairs at these
ends would shorten the walking
distance for pedestrians, and would
reduce cyclist-pedestrian interaction
on lengthy portions of the ramps.
A number of Glebe residents
objected to the new west-side berm
leading up to the structural span,
noting it would block views from the
Queen Elizabeth Driveway and for
those living just to the west of the
Driveway. In the original design the
west side ramp was supported on a
pier with a structural deck so that it
was possible to see the Canal from
the Driveway.
Details of the new design are
available at http://ottawa.ca/en/
city-hall/planning-and-development/
rideau-canal-crossing-fifth-clegg .
The City welcomes comments, and
staff are particularly interested in
suggestions for ensuring safe cyclistpedestrian travel on the bridge.
THE OSCAR
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MARCH 2016
Page 3
Community Garden Gears Up for its Fifth Year
Brewer Park Community Garden in warmer days.
By Ed Kucerak
After four very successful years, the
Brewer Park Community Garden
(BPCG) is gearing up for an even
more exciting fifth year of gardening,
community building, and sharing.
For those of you who may have
not yet heard about the BPCG, we
are a non-profit community-based
organization focused on operating
PHOTO BY ED KUCERAK
a community garden open to all
those who live, work, or study in
Old Ottawa South and neighbouring
areas. As our name implies, the
garden is located in Brewer Park,
between Brewer Swimming Pool and
Westboro Academy.
We are committed to providing
a growing space for individuals,
families, and the local community
including a children’s garden;
$1,025,000
projects of an educational nature;
and a space to grow food for those
in need based on sustainable organic
gardening practices with no chemical
fertilizers or pesticides.
If you are interested in learning
more about BPCG or in joining our
gardening community, please check
out the garden’s website at www.
brewerparkcommunitygarden.com.
Applications and details on how
to become a member for the 2016
gardening season are now available.
They can be downloaded from the
“Garden Plots and Membership”
page on our website. There is a onetime fee of $20 to become a member
of the garden, and an annual fee of
$25 per garden box.
The deadline for receipt of
applications is April 4, 2016.
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THE OSCAR
Page 4
POETRY
PHOTO BY MARTY GERVAIS
Door
l
MARCH 2016
Snow
By Susan McMaster
By Bruce Grant
When friends walk away
too soon, you’re left
in the draft from the winter
night blowing past where they
forgot to stand in the doorway,
in their coats and woolly hats,
to say just one last thing
and one last thing more
while you shivered and laughed,
maybe wished they would go,
because even in their shelter
the wind blows cold
where you stand to see them off,
lean against the jamb
in shirt and sock feet,
rub elbows, clutch arms,
but, even as they turn away
at last, you yourself add
just one more word,
one more twist to the tale
that none of you can let end –
wait – press a bag into their hands –
for the long drive home,
for lunch tomorrow – till finally
they say they really must –
and you wait while the car
backs down the lane,
rounds the corner, before
you flick off the lights,
lock the door, climb the stairs.
Let us sing a song of snow
borne by winter winds that blow
the stuff in piles against my door.
I could go out and shovel, or
leave off my coat, my mitts, my hat
and just push up the thermostat.
It isn’t stopping, so I think
I’ll pour myself a little drink.
For who knows but another day
the wind may blow that snow away.
Bruce Grant, retired Engineer, layabout,
is a resident of Old Ottawa South.
There’ll be a mess in the morning,
proof you all let go, partying
so well, talking so loudly,
it was hard to wind down
till you stood at the door
shivering and buzzing
with spirits and words.
POETRY WANTED!
Submissions of original poems
by Old Ottawa South writers
are welcome. Please send up
to 3 poems, no more than
30 lines long, and a 1-line
bio to the Editor at OSCAR@
oldottawasouth.ca
When a friend leaves too soon
the draft blows in.
Susan McMaster is an OOS resident.
From “Paper Affair: Poems Selected
and New” (Black Moss, 2010).
LOCAL NEWS
Ottawa Pacers Celebrate their 35th Anniversary
PHOTO BY BRENDAN MCCOY
By Susan Townley
On Saturday, January 30th the
Ottawa Pacers Speed Skating Club
celebrated their 35th anniversary as
an incorporated club at Brewer Park
Oval with fun races for everyone.
Skaters from age 5 to 75 celebrated
Ottawa’s #1
Soccer Academy
The only professional soccer academy
in Ottawa with European Professional
soccer background
GLEBE / OLD OTTAWA SOUTH & ALTA VISTA
SUMMER PROGRAMS 2016
Boys & Girls
Program 1 - Active Parents Active Kids 3-5 Year Olds
Program 2 - Skill Development for boys & girlls U/7, U/9, & uU12
DURING THE GAME, CHILDREN ARE APPLYING, NOT DEVELOPING THE SKILL
Summer Camp - Boys & Girls 7-12 years old
Location: CANTERBURY PARK Date: JULY 11TH– 15TH
For more information please visit www.wsocceracademy.org
and feel free to ask any additional questions. Tel: 613.276.9031
the beautiful day with shorter
distances and fun races for
the younger ones, and a
one hour race for the older
skaters. The fastest skaters
managed to skate 83 laps
in one hour! Well over 100
pairs of speed skates were
rented out to the public
during the afternoon and
everyone had a chance to
try out speed skates under
the tutelage of experienced
skaters.
It was not only an
afternoon filled with skating,
but food as well! There were
free crepes and hot chocolate
served all afternoon, and
then everyone continued the
celebration at the Brewer
Pool with a dinner of chili
and cake. We were joined by
our local councillor David
Chernushenko, and in the
Councillor David Chernushenko, his
daughter Anna, and the Pacers President
Celeste Bouma at the evening ceremony.
afternoon by Mathieu Fleury, the
Ottawa city councillor of RideauVanier Ward. David even wowed
us by wearing the shirt he had from
when he was a member of the Pacers
in the 1980’s! It was a fantastic day
to celebrate the club’s history and
contributions to the sport of speed
skating in Canada.
THE OSCAR
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MARCH 2016
Page 5
LOCAL NEWS
Custom-Made Jewellery at Atlantica
By Tracey Morey
He designs a ring or a pendant on
the computer. A lifelike 3D rendered
image is then sent to the customer,
giving them a feel for what their
masterpiece will look like, and
allowing them to request changes
before the design is 3D printed and
cast in metal.
Made-to-order jewellery is a big
seller for Hazem Maksoud, whose
Atlantica Fine Jewellery store opened
recently at Bank and Cameron. But
the store also features ready-made
necklaces, rings, earrings and a range
of garnet, topaz and amethyst stones.
Plus an impressive array of watches.
Engagement rings and wedding
bands are his bread and butter.
“But custom work is what I do,”
says Hazem. “Selling jewellery is
secondary – meaning it pays my bills.
At other big chain jewellery stores,
you’re paying for the name above
all. I provide a valuable service at a
much lower price by default, custommade original pieces with minimal
mark-up.” Atlantica Fine Jewellery is
also a member of the Better Business
Bureau and the Canadian Jewellers
Association.
In addition to selling Jewellery,
Hazem also offers customers cash
for their unwanted gold and silver
jewellery. Customers also have the
opportunity to save money on a
custom work by recycling the gold
or silver from their old jewellery to
create a brand new piece.
What Hazem likes about his new
location is that it has a front showroom, an office space, a workshop for
him and a back room for family. His
wife Mia was very much involved in
setting up the shop, but a new baby
arrived last year so she’s on maternity
leave. There are not a lot of walk-in
customers yet, but Hazem’s clients
from his previous locations have
followed him here. His clientele base
continues to grow, above all through
word of mouth.
After leaving high school in
Lebanon, Hazem joined his brother
in Ottawa in 1984. He liked the city
a lot and has been here ever since.
“It had the convenience of a big city
and the charm of a small town,” he
recalled.
He worked various odd restaurant
jobs for a while, but his love of
travel led to another trade. He began
by saving up money and travelling
to Brazil, where he’d buy unique
artifacts and items that he brought
home to Canada and sold. Silver
rings were lucrative and he started
getting orders from companies in
Toronto and Montreal. Over the
years, his investment in the industry
grew as did his expertise, and he
eventually went to Antwerp, Belgium
to be fully certified in diamond
grading.
In 2000, Hazem opened his first
jewelry store on Merivale Road,
before moving to the north end of
Bank Street years later. When that
lease came up he was looking for a
new location. That’s when the Old
Ottawa South corner store came
A Jewel Of A Business! Hazem Maksoud outside Atlantica Fine
Jewellery, which is at Bank and Cameron.
PHOTO BY TRACY MOREY
Owner Hazem Maksoud in his new store.
PHOTO BY TRACY MOREY
up. As for Old Ottawa South, Hazem
says “It feels really comfortable
for me, even more than the other
locations I’ve worked.”
If you’re looking to plan a visit to
Atlantica, or would like to contact
Hazem directly, you can visit
Atlantica Fine Jewellery’s Facebook
page.
THE OSCAR
Page 6
CHRISTY’S CORNER
Firehall Updates
By Christy Savage, OSCA
Executive Director
Spring is around the corner and with
that in mind we have a number of
things happening in March at the
Firehall.
Women’s Networking Event March
6th
The Special Events Committee
is happy to announce our very first
“Women’s Networking Event”
in Celebration of International
Women’s Day. On Sunday, March
6th from 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm OSCA
will celebrate women everywhere
by bringing together women from
our community. We will have three
special guests from different walks
of life; networking with a wine and
cheese afterward; and the opportunity
to meet other amazing women from
the community. Thank you to Ilia
Fabbri and Monica Chaves Paz for
organizing this event. And thank
you to the many sponsors who
contributed.
We’re on Social Media
For almost a year Mike Schnier,
OSCA Communications and
Outreach Coordinator, has been
working diligently to increase
our involvement on social media.
That means we’re reaching out to
community partners and beyond, and
sharing information about things that
affect our community. From public
service announcements, events in
OOS, the Glebe, OOE, and the City.
Items of interest like when the canal
opens for skating, to programming
and important updates from the
Firehall. Please like our Facebook
page at facebook.com/oldottsouth
and follow us on Twitter at twitter.
com/oldottsouth to get updates and
stay in the loop. And if you have a
page in mind you think we should
like/follow, please let us know.
New Program Guide Launches
We are very proud to launch
a brand new program guide that
we are now producing in-house.
Mike Schnier has created a new
design that we feel makes finding
programs and information important
to you much easier. We have clearly
delineated sections to find yoga,
children’s programs, dance, adult
special interest, etc. Hopefully the
new design inspires you to keep
perusing our course offerings and
getting to know all there is to know
about OSCA, the Board, Committees,
different programs, policies, and
l
MARCH 2016
procedures.
March Registration for Spring
Programs and System Updates
Registration for Spring programs
begins on March 1st, and continues
until March 3rd with After 4
programs. Please go into your
profiles and make any updates
necessary prior to registration.
Please also feel free to email mike@
oldottawasouth.ca if you experience
any issues or concerns with the
system in advance of registration.
“Legend”, the new registration
system OSCA now uses, launched
a few updates at the end of January
that make the system more intuitive.
More updates will be launched at the
end of May, when you will be able
to access your joint accounts and all
transactions. We are very excited
with the new registration system and
all it has to offer. But there is much to
implement and learn in the meantime.
With launching any new program
there are bound to be adjustments.
We feel fortunate that the UK-based
company Legend is building this
system exclusively for us. They are
launching in North America with
ourselves, GNAG and Dovercourt,
and with any initial launch there will
be more adjustments to be made
initially, but the final product will
be one that we will have had strong
input in creating, which is very
important. The OSCA President’s
column this month discusses our
new registration system. I invite
you to read it for more details.
Please also feel free to contact either
Mike or myself, Christy Savage at
osca@oldottawatouth.ca with any
questions.
Summer Camp Registration is
Ongoing
Don’t forget to register for summer
camps. We are excited to launch
a number of classics as well as a
number of exciting new camps this
summer. Registration opened on
February 1st and is ongoing. For
the full guide please go to www.
oldottawasouth.ca
Happy, almost, spring everyone.
OSCA PRESIDENT’S REPORT
The New OSCA Registration System
By Linda Hancock
I am writing this column on Family
Day and the last day of Winterlude
– what a wonderful festival and a
great way to enjoy the outdoors in
our wonderful city! As this issue of
The OSCAR hits your front porch or
door, another winter will be coming
to a close and there may be hints of
spring in the air. Time to put away
our skates and skis and head out our
front doors to walk, run, cycle or
wheel!
For those of you who participate in
OSCA’s programs and activities, you
will have noticed a fairly significant
change to our registration system
late last year. We launched our new
system, Legend, on November 30th,
2015. When introducing a new
system, it seems there are always
some initial challenges and Legend
was no exception. Although we had
a few glitches, we are confident that
Legend will provide our clients with
the best registration system possible,
and OSCA with a much improved
ability to manage our programs and
activities, as well as the capability to
assess and evaluate all that we do.
We realize that many users have
experienced problems with the
operation of this new system. We
truly appreciate the feedback that we
have received. It is your feedback
that allows us to adjust and fine-tune
Legend. We are actively working on
any and all issues that exist. In the
meantime, we are confident that our
WANT TO JOIN THE OSCA BOARD?
If you have an interest
and may have the skills needed,
contact
nominations@oldottawasouth.ca
clients will benefit as follows:
• You will be able to search for
programs by name instead of
clicking through menus;
• In response to your questions/
requests, we will be able to send
direct links to courses on our
website and through emails;
• You will be able to register using
a phone or a tablet; and
• Legend provides much more
flexibility than the old system in
many ways.
In addition to a much easier system
for our clients, Legend provides
many advantages for OSCA. The
system is much simpler to add our
programs and activities every season.
Legend also has the capability to
produce many different reports
that will allow us to better plan our
activities and finances. As OSCA is
working with Dovercourt and the
Glebe Neighbourhood Activities
Group, we are able to share best
practices and we are working
directly with the developers of
Legend. This means that we can
continue to provide feedback and
implement changes to make the
program work better for us.
As we head into March, the
OSCA Board is already preparing
for our AGM in May. One of the
most important parts of our AGM
is selecting our new Board for the
2015/2016 year. I am very pleased
that we will have many returning
Board members to provide much
needed continuity. We will have a
few positions available and would
love to have some new members join
us. Our Nominations Committee is
already set up and working towards
putting forward a full slate of
nominees. If you have an interest in
getting involved, please send a note
to nominations@oldottawasouth.ca.
Enjoy the rest of the winter and the
beginning of spring!
THE OSCAR
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MARCH 2016
Page 7
OOS Moose Victorious at Capital Ward Cup
By David Wylynko
We win. Celebrating its 9th
season, the Capital Ward Cup has
convincingly surpassed the storied
World Hockey Association – which
lasted seven seasons in the 1970s – as
the only viable competitor in Canada
to the National Hockey League. And
Old Ottawa South has played a huge
role, cementing its fourth title in the
half-day 4 on 4 shinny tournament
January 30th at the outdoor rink at
Heron Park.
It almost didn’t happen. Though
it was bone-chillingly cold by
Valentine’s Day, at the end of
January it got warm enough to
close the outdoor rinks. El Niño,
or its brooding father-figure,
Climate Change, nearly spoiled
the tournament. But just in time, a
temperature dip made the outdoor ice
conditions perfect.
Well, perfect for some. “Never
again,” promised at least one veteran
after two hours of grueling end-toend action, kicking his skates into
the corner. “Time to leave it to the
younger guys.”
It was the second consecutive win
for the Old Ottawa South Moose,
who compete each year against the
Heron Park Hackers, Old Ottawa
East Hosers, and Glebe Goal-Getters.
In a breathtaking end to end final, the
Moose overcame the surging Hosers
to win 12-7. What followed was a
momentous celebration, or a pile of
exhausted bodies scattered on the ice,
depending on who you ask.
The Moose have now won the
tourney four times overall, having
captured the title in the inaugural
2008 event, again in 2011, and now
twice in a row. The Hosers have
also won it four times (2009, 2010,
2012, and 2013) and made the final
every year, a feat few franchises
have matched in sports history. In the
1950s, even the sensational Montreal
Canadiens of the Maurice “Rocket”
Richard era only made the final seven
times in a row (though they did win
five of those finals).
Glebe has won the Cup once
(2014) thanks to a year when they
brought in some outstanding young
talent. “Ah, then they all move
away,” sighed a veteran player.
Once again, the Moose’s female
players made all the difference (each
team must have two female players
on the ice at all times). The team’s
secret weapon was the three Sanford
sisters, affectionately dubbed the
“Hanson sisters” by those old enough
to dust off the VCR to watch the
1977 Paul Newman cult classic Slap
Shot. They don’t all come at once,
though, Rebecca and Catherine
playing this year and Rebecca and
Elizabeth last year.
Rumours abound that the sisters
could become free agents for the
tournament’s 10th annual rendition
next year. When it was learned one
of the sisters actually lives within
the boundary of Old Ottawa East (at
least, at the moment), the Hosers’
manager John Dance pounced,
proclaiming: “There was superb skill
and sportswomanship out there today
but beware next year we’ll try to
repatriate the wonderful OOE women
who contributed to the Moose’s
triumph over the Hosers.” His
comment could have created a huge
furor at the post-game media scrum,
had there been one.
The Moose also took advantage
of the superb playmaking of their
young male players, Stephen Kutcher
and Matt Hudon, who both played
for the past three seasons. “Nice
to see they put out for boards this
year,” commented Matt of the Heron
Park ice, after two consecutive
seasons playing without boards at
Calling All Artists and Artisans for
the OSCA Windsor Park Art Show
By Brenda Lee
OSCA, in conjunction with ABC
Breweries, proudly presents it’s
annual art show in lovely Windsor
Park, overlooking the Rideau River.
Featuring over 30 artists and artisans,
this is a great opportunity for new
and established artists to show their
work and to connect with other artists
and members of the community. Held
this year on June 5th from 10-4, it is
an event not to be missed.
Live music this year will be
provided by The Hopewell Choir,
Dinos and Darcy and award winner
John Allaire. (www.JohnAllaire.com)
There will also be a community
BBQ at the event this year. The BBQ
will be hosted by the
Ottawa South Committee for
Refugee Sponsorship, and proceeds
will go towards the Syrian families
they are supporting.
Registration of artists begins on
March 1st. Participants will need
to make a family profile before
registering in the online system. For
assistance please call 613-247-4946.
A 10x10 foot space costs $50, and
all art displayed must be made by the
artist registered for the event. There
is no electricity to the site, and artists
must provide their own tents and
tables, and are responsible for their
own cash and receipts.
For those sharing spaces please
note that only one jpeg per space will
be allowed on the brochure.
For more information please visit
www.oldottawasouth.ca or call 613247-4946.
Please note that this OSCA run
event is not to be confused with the
privately run Old Ottawa South Art
and Music Festival that has been held
in previous years in September, in
Windsor Park.
Brantwood Park and the temporary
ice at the St. James Tennis Club. The
roster was rounded out by stellar
playmaker Bruce Alexander, who
missed last year due to contract
disputes, Captain Nick Neuheimer,
and stalwart Shawn Veinot, who
came equipped with braces for both
knees this time. “Getting old, guys,”
Shawn commented with a sigh. The
Hosers also brought a mix of older
and young players, their fresh-faced
former competitive league players
putting the fear of youth and vigour
in the Moose veterans.
After the final, Hosers’ star player
Andrew Matsukubo reflected on how
the tournament has evolved over
nine years. “At some point, not sure
when, the younger guys overtook us
in speed and talent,” he lamented.
“Maybe it’s time to bring even
younger guys into the tournament.”
Moose captain Nick Neuheimer made
a similar suggestion: “How about
a youth division, for teens.” Many
agreed, warming to the prospect of
seeing a faster game.
This year, Heron Park did an
extraordinary job hosting the event,
putting out refreshments for all,
including coffee and hot chocolate to
keep the throng of spectators warm.
Next year, the tourney moves back
to Old Ottawa South, but might
conflict with the first-ever outdoor
NHL Winter Classic to be played in
Ottawa.
Clearly, the big wigs who want
the Classic brought to Ottawa are
jealous of seeing the Capital Ward
Cup capture all the limelight. They
are bucking to play the big outdoor
game, between the Ottawa Senators
and the Canadiens, at an outdoor
rink in Old Ottawa South. But if it
interferes with the practice schedule
of the Moose, they’ll be relegated to
a makeshift temporary facility on the
field at TD Place, or on Parliament
Hill.
The outdoor game would
commemorate the 100th year that
the big league has competed for
Lord Stanley’s cherished Cup, not
to mention the 150th anniversary
of Canada itself. Best of luck to
them. But as outdoor games go, the
tournament initially founded and
refereed by former Capital Ward
Councillor Clive Doucet, and since
then by current Councillor David
Chernushenko, will always come first
in the hearts of Capital Ward. Bring
on the decadal spectacle.
Thanks to two consecutive
championships, Moose manager
David Wylynko has been spared
the merciless mid-season firing so
common in hockey. For now.
[Decadal: “Pertaining to ten;
consisting of tens”.]
Thanks to OSCAR’s
many volunteer writers
and distributors for
helping get the news
to you!
The OSCAR is a self-supporting newspaper,
paid for entirely by advertising, and reliant on
volunteer contributors and distributors.
Thanks to the Dairy Queen for
contributing to our community through
its support of the many
OSCAR volunteers.
Dairy Queen, 1272 Bank Street
738-7146
THE OSCAR
Page 8
l
MARCH 2016
THE
OSCAR
260 Sunnyside Ave, Ottawa Ontario, K1S 0R7
www.oldottawasouth.ca/oscar
ISSN: 0715-5476
oscar@oldottawasouth.ca
Editor: Brendan McCoy
oscar@oldottawasouth.ca
Layout and Design Editor: Bess Fraser
Copy Editor: Michael Thibault
Distribution Manager: Larry Ostler
613-327-9080
larryostler@gmail.com
Business Manager: Susanne Ledbetter ledbetter@sympatico.ca
Advertising Manager: Gayle Weitzman 613-730-1058
oscarads@oldottawasouth.ca
(not classy ads)
The OSCAR is printed by Winchester Print.
Volunteer Proofreaders: Lida Towstiak, Maura Giuliani,
Mary Low, Scott Valentine, Roger Williams
The OSCAR is a community paper paid for entirely by advertising. It is
published by the Old Ottawa South Community Association Inc. (OSCA).
Distribution is free to all Old Ottawa South homes and businesses. It
is available at selected locations in Old Ottawa South and the Glebe.
Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily of The
OSCAR or OSCA.
Contributions should be in electronic format sent by e-mail to oscar@
oldottawasouth.ca in either plain text or WORD format. All submissions
will be acknowledged by e-mail. The Editor has the final say about
style, format and content. The OSCAR Editorial Policy, and Guidelines
for Submissions, are available on the OSCA Website. The OSCAR is
available online at www.oldottawasouth.ca. Some articles will be posted
on the OSCA Website.
FOR DISTRIBUTION INQUIRIES,
call: 613-327-9080 or e-mail: larryostler@gmail.com
The OSCAR thanks the following people who
brought us to your door this month:
ZONE A1: Kathy Krywicki (Coordinator), Mary Jo Lynch, Kim Barclay, Élie
Cantin Nantel, Wendy Robbins, Jim and Carrol Robb, Becky Sasaki, Kevin
and Stephanie Williams, Christy Griffin.
ZONE B1: Ross Imrie (Coordinator), the Gref- Innes family, the Fegan
family, the Montgomery family, Laurie Morrison, Susanne Ledbetter, Torin
and Konstantine Assal.
ZONE B2: Craig Piche (Coordinator), Pat Eakins, Hayley Atkinson, Leslie
Roster, Sandra Garland, John Callan, Diana Carr, Caitlin.
ZONE C1: Laura Johnson (Coordinator), the Williams family, Josh Rahaman,
Jesper Lindeberg, Declan and Darcy McCoy, Bruce Grant, and the WoroniukRyan family, Bryan and Anneka Dallin O’Grady, David Fisher.
ZONE C2: Craig Piche (Coordinator), Alan McCullough, Charles and Phillip
Kijek, Kit Jenkin, Michel and Christina Bridgeman, Melissa Johnson.
ZONE D1: Mary Hill (Coordinator), Emily Keys, Ekin Kiziltan, Gail Stewart,
Gabe Teramura, Oliver and Claire Waddington, the Sprott family.
ZONE D2: Janet Drysdale (Coordinator), Caitlin, the Adriaanse family, Anna
Chernushenko, Jacqueline Littlewood, the Rand family, Aidan and Willem
Ray, the Stewart family, and Mary Hill.
ZONE E1: Brian Tansey (Coordinator), Karen Wolfe and Curt Labond, Norah
Hutchinson, Steve Adamson, the Sanger/O’Neil family, Robert Trotter.
ZONE E2: Mary-Ann and Jim Kent, Glen Elder and Lorraine Stewart, the
Hunter family, the Brodkin-Haas family, Allan Paul, Christina Bradley,
Caroline Calvert, Larry Ostler, Chris Berry and Frida Kolster Berry.
ZONE F1: Carol and Ferg O’Connor (Coordinator), Jenny O’Brien, the Stern
family, Ellen Bailie, Paloma and Liliana Ruiz, Peter Kemp, Malachi Winter,
the Goutte family (Joshua, Leo and Alina), Walter and Robbie Engert.
ZONE F2: Pierre Guevremont (Coordinator), Paulette Theriault, Torin and
Konstantine Assal, Judy and Pierre Chamberland, Luc and Sydney Grenier,
Mary Johnston, the Walker Family, the Polkinghorne Family, The Kushner
Family.
ZONE G: Larry Ostler (Coordinator), Cindy MacLoghlin, Bernard and
Simon, Luke and Robin Eriksson, Gillian Hurd, Joanne Monaghan, Susan
McMaster.
Echo Drive: Alex Bissel.
Bank Street-Ottawa South: Joan-Foster Jones, Tom Lawson, Paula Archer.
Bank Street-Glebe: Larry Ostler.
Other: Maya.
NEXT DEADLINE: FRIDAY, MARCH 18
The OSCAR is published eleven times per year. Upcoming deadlines:
March 18 (April issue); April 15 (May issue); May 13 (June issue);
June 17 (July/August issue); August 12 (September issue).
To book an OSCAR ad
call Gayle at 613-730-1058
oscarads@oldottawasouth.ca
The Old Firehall
Ottawa South Community Centre
260 Sunnyside Ave, Ottawa Ontario, K1S 0R7
e-mail: osca@oldottawasouth.ca
OSCA on twitter: @oldottsouth
PHONE
613-247-4946
Monday To Friday
6:30 am - 9 pm
Saturday
8:00 am - 5 pm
Sunday
9:00 am - 5 pm
WHAT’S THAT NUMBER?
Ottawa South Community Centre - The Old Firehall
Ottawa South Community Association (OSCA)
Ottawa Public Library - Sunnyside Branch
Shawn Menard, English Public Board Trustee
(shawn.menard@ocdsb.ca)
Kathy Ablett, Catholic Board Trustee
Centretown Community Health Centre
CARLETON UNIVERSITY
CUSA (Carleton U Students Association)
Graduate Students Association
Community Liaison
Mediation Centre
Athletics
CITY HALL
David Chernushenko, City Councillor
(david.chernushenko@ottawa.ca)
Main Number (24 hrs) for all departments
Community Police - non-emergencies
Emergencies only
Serious Crimes
Ottawa Hydro
Streetlight Problems (burned out, always on, flickering)
Brewer Pool
Brewer Arena
City of Ottawa web site - www.city.ottawa.on.ca
613-247-4946
613-247-4872
613-730-1082
613-868-0515
613-526-9512
613-233-4443
613-520-6688
613-520-6616
613-520-3660
613-520-5765
613-520-4480
613-580-2487
3-1-1
613-236-1222
9-1-1
613-230-6211
613-738-6400
3-1-1
613-247-4938
613-247-4917
INDEX
OSCA
MUSIC
POLITICAL
6,7
14,15,22
12-14
FILM
20,21
SECOND THOUGHTS
23
FOOD
25
POETRY
CARLETON CORNER
LIBRARY
AROUND TOWN
MARKETPLACE
CLASSY ADS
4
29
30-31
32
32
32
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 9
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The OSCAR welcomes letters on subjects of interest to the community or in response to previous articles. All letters must disclose the name of the writer, as well as their address. Letters
may be edited for length, clarity, and libelous statements. The opinions of the writers are not necessarily those of the newspaper or its editor. Email your letters to oscar@oldottawasouth.ca
Trucks on Sunnyside Avenue
To the Editor,
Many residents of Old Ottawa
South, and particularly those
living on Sunnyside Ave.
(between Bank St. and Bronson
Ave.) have noticed a change in
recent months. Since the summer
of 2015, an increased number of
trucks have been travelling on
Sunnyside Avenue.
Although the “No Trucks”
signs still stand on Sunnyside
Ave. at Bank St., and at Bronson
Ave., box trucks from many
enterprises and businesses are
travelling on Sunnyside Ave.
It’s been observed that the vast
majority are not servicing the
small businesses at Sunnyside
Ave. and Seneca Ave., nor at
Bank St. Are they servicing the
businesses at Lansdowne Park?
Let’s remember, Sunnyside is a
residential avenue, and that there
is an elementary school at Bank
Street.
The Ottawa Police Service has
done a great job patrolling and
ticketing motorists running or
“rolling the stop” at intersections.
Every second day, they can be
seen stopped behind a vehicle,
lights flashing, ticketing away. It
would be greatly appreciated if
the Ottawa Police Service could
also be on the look-out for trucks
using Sunnyside Ave. as a shortcut to wherever.
Several Sunnyside Ave.
residents are now committed
to recording details about the
box trucks using Sunnyside
Ave. Truck description (colour,
ID number, business name,
and licence plate number when
possible) will be recorded, along
with the date and time, and
periodically transmitted to the
Ottawa Police Service and to
the City Councillor. We’ve been
given the following contacts at
the Ottawa Police Service: 613
236-1222 ext. 7300 or via web
form http://www.ottawapolice.
ca/en/contact-us/OnlineReporting.asp.
Hopefully, the drivers of these
trucks will get the message.
Sincerely,
R. Ozga
(Sunnyside Ave resident from
1955 to 1965, and from 1971 to
present.)
PHOTO BY BRENDAN MCCOY
MCCOY’S MUSINGS
Bylines
By Brendan McCoy,
OSCAR Editor
I am going to try the title “McCoy’s
Musings” for my monthly letter. The
topic this issue: bylines.
Why does the OSCAR need a
byline on all articles? It is a question
that comes up on a pretty regular
basis. Part of the answer is that it is
the editorial policy of the OSCAR.
But why is that the policy? There
was a time in centuries past when,
fearing authorities, the rich and
powerful, newspapers regularly ran
articles without bylines or under
pseudonyms. Charles Dickens, as
a young journalist, wrote political
reports under the name “Boz.”
OSCAR Zone Coordinator Needed:
•For Zone G, that includes delivery routes on the following
streets: Brighton, Fentiman and Belmont
Please contact the Distribution Manager Larry Ostler at:
email larryostler@gmail.com
or
phone 613-327-9080
But times have changed. Modern
journalistic ethics dictate that
reporters should identify who they
are. After all they are asserting facts
and stating their opinions. Further,
with a community paper such as the
OSCAR, reporters are not paid. They
are not employees of the paper, but
are (very vital) contributors. While I
as editor make every effort to check
the facts of stories, and be sure
there is fairness and respect (it is
after all a community paper), in
the end the authors of a story need
to take some responsibility for
their writing.
But is it an article or is it just a
notice? A notice, or photo caption
does not need a byline, so where
is the dividing line? This, I will
admit, is matter of judgment. The
editor’s judgment, and I have
wrestled with this in a few cases and
thought a fair amount about it. Do I
always get it right? I doubt it, but I
do try.
Wondering why that anonymous
letter put in my mailbox never made
it to print? Here is at least part of the
reason.
But do keep your contributions
coming, this is after all your paper, it
is the place the community can have
a conversation. Just do please put
your name on them.
The Homework Club
Now also offering a Girl’s Club
ALL GIRLS! ONLY GIRLS!
Academics, Arts & Yoga
“Fridays are French Fun” for French Immersion
Affordable, Quality, After-School Care
3:30-5:30 pm * Grades 1 – 8
Register NOW for September
On the Sunny 2nd floor of Southminster United Church
Supervised walking from Hopewell
Call 613-818-3006
14 years Academic Support & Quality After-School Care
Excellent Local References
THE OSCAR
Page 10
Child Safety Awareness in Old Ottawa South
By Janet Jull
Old Ottawa South is a great
neighbourhood that enjoys a strong
sense of community. Compared
with other neighbourhoods in the
National Capital Region, we also
experience a relatively low rate of
criminal activity, but we cannot take
this for granted. Increased traffic in
our neighbourhood resulting from the
redevelopment of Lansdowne Park,
persistent low-level crime, and the
more recent and troubling reports
of predatory behaviour towards
neighbourhood children all serve to
remind of us of this fact.
The deterrence of crime is a wholeof-community effort and we need to
actively work together to cultivate
this environment. Our strength lies
in our community. We live in a
friendly urban neighbourhood with
front yards and porches that generate
lots of contact between neighbours.
Our families and neighbours are
active and present on our streets,
we have a busy and engaged
community centre, a caring school
that is interested in neighbourhood
safety, and we enjoy a vibrant and
energetic business community on
Bank Street where many of us shop.
The result is that we talk among one
another and have effective “eyes on
the street”. According the Ottawa
Police Service, these “eyes on the
street” are a key element in safe
communities. Being aware of what
happens on each other’s property and
watching one another’s children lets
us immediately recognize what is
different, wrong or does not fit with
the normal pattern of life in our own
neighbourhood.
Recent reports of predatory
behaviour targeting younger people
in the community are particularly
upsetting and should serve as
a reminder that we collectively
need to refocus our attention on
neighbourhood safety.
Police Investigations: One Closed
By Brendan McCoy
On January 31 there was
a widely reported incident
on Pansy Avenue where a
13-year-old girl on foot was
offered a stuffed animal
by a male who had gotten
out of a vehicle. Since then
Ottawa Police Officers:
“identified and interviewed
the male and determined
that there was no criminal
intent. The file is now
closed and no charge has
been laid.”
The Police Service
did also report that they
“continue to investigate the
third party report alleging
that a child luring and
sexual assault occurred in
the area of Grove Avenue
and Leonard Avenue on
November 30, 2015.”
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MARCH 2016
our community remains safe and
welcoming.
Community Meeting: Ottawa
Police Services & Child Safety
Awareness
Join your neighbours, local
business owners, educators and
community leaders in a gathering at
Hopewell Public School’s Library,
March 3rd at 7 pm, to meet Old
Ottawa South’s Community Policing
Officer, Constable Matthew Hunt.
Cst. Hunt will talk about his role
within the community and how
Ottawa Police Services works with
our neighbourhood.
This is an opportunity for
community members to get accurate
information, discuss child and youth
safety, and identify how best to
address potential child predation so
that our community remains a safe
and welcoming one.
We look forward to seeing you
there.
Child Safety Awareness
Community Meeting
March 3rd at 7:00 pm
Hopewell Public School Library
Brewer Park Spring Clean Up
Needs a New Leader
By Georgina Hunter
!
G SOON
COMIN
LOWERTOWN SINGLE
501 Clarence St E
Listed at $535,000
When we are vigilant and notice
odd behavior or unusual activity,
there are ways for each of us to take
action – and many of these measures
are both simple and anonymous.
A community meeting has been
organized to provide a venue where
we can discuss how we can all
work together with our community
networks.
The meeting will provide
participants with information on
how Old Ottawa South residents
can obtain accurate information
on incidents that occur in our
neighbourhood. As well, we’ll
discuss how community members
can engage in practices that support
and promote neighbourhood safety –
particularly for our most vulnerable
community members. We’re also
interested in hearing your views on
how we can strengthen and maintain
the wellbeing of our neighbourhood.
Together, we can identify how best to
address these safety issues and ensure
l
Brewer Park needs you to become
the new leader for the annual spring
clean up.
The benefits are enormous.
You get a chance to spend time in
the fresh air, sipping coffee, chatting
with friends, family, neighbours and
meet new volunteers.
Thousands of park users will
appreciate your efforts. You will feel
great offering the team a coffee or a
juice. You simply send off volunteers
in small groups to sections of the
park with garbage and compost bags,
gloves and a rake. Then you meet
back a few hours later for a group
photo, that will be published here in
the OSCAR.
If you are in high school, university
or a recent graduate, this position is
a great one to add to your resume.
You can tick off leadership skills and
community involvement experience.
Or perhaps you are a senior or a stayat-home parent wanting to make a
difference?
If you live between Bank and
Bronson, are physically able to pick
up garbage, love to organize, then
you’ve got what it takes.
Here is the list of responsibilities:
• Set a date – a Saturday morning in
April after the snow melts. 9:00 am
– 11:30 am.
• Contact the city of Ottawa and they
will provide you with compost and
garbage bags.
• Recruit volunteers: friends, family,
neighbours, dog walkers, community gardeners, and parents with
children using the play equipment.
• Advertise the event: with posters,
an article in OSCAR, by word of
mouth.
• Request donations of coffee, cookies and juice and set up a table for
the refreshments.
• Inform the city of Ottawa where
in the park to pick up the garbage
after the clean up.
• Send a photo and short article to
the OSCAR.
Being a park clean up leader is a
win-win situation. When you help
others, you help yourself. Pets,
wildlife and children will be safer
when the debris is picked up.
Your effort will have long lasting
effects: people are less likely to litter
in a clean park than a dirty one.
For more information: please
contact: Georgina Hunter at:
gginahunter@gmail.com.
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 11
OCSB TRUSTEE’S REPORT
Black History Month Celebrated at Immaculata HS
By Kathy Ablett, Trustee
As always, Immaculata High
School is excited to celebrate the
multicultural heritage that our student
and staff population represent! With
over 80 countries and more than
20 languages and dialects in our
rich and diverse school community,
teachers wove Black History into
their curriculum enhancing their
lessons in February. Black History
Month celebrations featured the
contributions of many to Canada’s
Black History. Every year, the student organizing
committee, comprised of 12-15
students, meets weekly from the
beginning of January to have a
leading voice in the activities that
best represent and suit our school
community. This year, part of the
planning done by our very own
students included an African Dance
group, a drumming circle, spoken
word, a window case display and
morning announcements.
Our month of celebrations and
activities closed with a special school
assembly, which included a visit
from our very own Ottawa CBC
personality, Mr. Adrian Harewood!
He visited our school on Friday,
February 26th and spoke to all grades
in our Assemblies in the big gym to
present his view on Black History
in Canada. As well, on this day, the
school celebrated together all the
prepared aforementioned student
performances.
This doesn’t stop when February
ends! Multicultural celebrations are
ongoing at Immaculata. Our activities
and events continue throughout the
year. In April, we are very lucky to
have MASC artist Leslie McCurdy
come and perform for us her act
‘Things my Fore-Sisters Saw’.
Later in May, the school community
prepares the International Food Fair. Immaculata’s Team-Titanic-II
placed second at Skills Ontario’s
Cardboard Boat Challenge. The
event, held at The Confederation
Education Center and Nepean
Sportsplex on Wednesday, January
27th, challenged teams of four
students to construct a boat with two
4’ x 8’ sheets of double-corrugated
cardboard and a roll of duct-tape. The
teams then race their boats across
a pool and test how many students
can be loaded into the boat before
sinking. Grade 8 Immaculata students
Romy, Colin, Zane and Cayden
constructed a boat that covered the
pool’s length in 28 seconds and held
340 pounds before sinking. The team
will be invited to participate in the
Provincial Finals, held in Waterloo,
on March 1st. Well done!
Refugee Response
A large group of Immaculata High
School students ranging in grade
from 7 to 12 are supporting the work
of Canadian Martyrs Parish which
is sponsoring two Syrian refugee
families. They are sponsoring a
married couple and a family of
seven. Among many initiatives, the
students are fundraising through
sales of flowers for Valentine’s Day,
preparing lunch kits for the children,
putting together backpacks and
school supplies, and they also created
a welcome video in English and
Arabic.
Immaculata staff is also in on the
welcome by providing the families
with household cleaning supplies and
paper products. What generosity and
enthusiasm at Immaculata!
Corpus Christi News
Corpus Christi’s Catholic School
Council and parent organizers hosted
their annual Mardi Gras fundraiser
event on February 9th and it was a
great success! The auction, games,
bake sale, etc are always a huge hit in
this school community.
The school recently observed
Winter Kindness and Spirit Week.
This year the students participated
in theme days and special events
and paired them with the creation
of Winter Warmth Kindness Bags
that will be shared with our friends
at the Shepherds of Good Hope.
Ninety bags will be made (with the
special number of 90 matching our
anniversary year) that contain items
and gift cards to add a touch of
warmth to those in need.
As I mentioned last month, Corpus
Christi’s 90th Anniversary is coming
up. Mark your calendars for this
exciting event to be held on Friday,
May 6th during Education Week.
Keep in touch with your school for
upcoming events and celebrations!
I look forward to seeing you during
those occasions.
If, at any time, I can be of assistance
to you please do not hesitate to call
me at 613-526-9512.
MP’S REPORT
Update From The Hill
By Catherine McKenna, M.P.
The last few months have been
incredibly busy. Responsibilities have
taken me out of Ottawa several times,
but I have relished the days at home
in Ottawa serving constituents.
Clegg Street/Fifth Avenue
Footbridge
I was pleased to view the
impressive sketches for this
footbridge at a community meeting
on February 4. This footbridge will
be a great asset for cyclists and
pedestrians in Ottawa. As part of the
upcoming federal budget, I will seek
federal funding for this footbridge.
Based on my recent discussion with
Mayor Watson and Yasir Naqvi, MPP
for Ottawa Centre, we are hoping
to make the construction of the
footbridge a 2017 legacy project.
Central Library
I am pleased about the potential
partnership between the Ottawa
Public Library and Library and
Archives Canada. This supports
a vision of a library as a space to
showcase valuable documents,
artefacts and paintings that illustrate
Canada’s history and cultural
heritage. Having a new central library
in Ottawa Centre is an important
priority and was one of my campaign
commitments.
Pre-Budget Consultation
Our government is moving towards
our first budget. I provided residents
of Ottawa Centre with an opportunity
on February 1st to present their views
on this budget. Some 80 residents
of Ottawa Centre attended our prebudget consultation and advanced
a number of ideas. Feedback on the
budget can also be provided at www.
budget.gc.ca.
Environment and Climate Change
I was proud to join the Prime
Minister and a diverse Canadian
delegation of premiers, Indigenous
leaders, environmental NGOs,
business and youth at the Climate
Change Conference in Paris. It
was an honour to be a facilitator in
the negotiations and play a part in
arriving at an ambitious international
agreement to tackle climate change.
Now the hard work starts at
home — and Canada’s provinces
and territories are stepping up.
On January 28 and 29, I hosted a
meeting of provincial and territorial
ministers of the environment that
came together for the first time ever
to work towards the establishment
of a pan-Canadian framework to
address climate change and grow our
economy.
I know that sustainability is an
important issue for the residents of
Old Ottawa South, and that is why I
am hosting a public forum this spring
on how to make Ottawa a greener
city. Stay tuned for more details!
Contact me at 613-946-8682 or
Catherine.McKenna@parl.gc.ca.
Catherine McKenna, MP
Ottawa Centre
Working for you!
Community Office
107 Catherine Street
Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0P4
Tel: 613-946-8682
Fax: 613-946-8680
McKenna.Ottawa
@CMcKennaOttawa
www.cmckenna.liberal.ca
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MARCH 2016
MPP’S REPORT
Ontario Passes Legislation to Help Build Smart and
Sustainable Urban Communities
By Yasir Naqvi, MPP
In Ottawa Centre, we are fortunate
to live in a diverse urban core,
surrounded by the Ottawa and
Rideau rivers and the Rideau Canal
(a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
As such, our community, in many
respects, is the epicentre of intense
development - setting the stage for a
Yasir Naqvi, MPP
Ottawa Centre
Here to
help you!
Community Office
109 Catherine Street
Ottawa, ON K2P 0P4
T 613-722-6414 | F 613-722-6703
ynaqvi.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
yasirnaqvimpp.ca
b /yasirnaqvimpp | a @yasir_naqvi
21st century modern city.
Our residents are welcoming of
these changes, but have continuously
expressed the desire to be involved
in the decision-making, and
have encouraged development
that matches the character of the
neighbourhoods. Further, the
proliferation of condominiums
has meant new challenges for
residents and requires strengthened
regulations.
The Ontario government has
recently passed two pieces of
legislation that would help build
sustainable communities and foster
vibrant condo living.
Smart Growth
Land-use planning and sustainable
development have been important
issues to our community. Through
our numerous consultations,
like the Sustainable Community
Summit in October 2012, Ottawa
Centre residents were able to give
true expression to “communityinspired development.” The new law
includes many of the proposals and
recommendations that came out of
those sessions.
Rideau River ice breaking begins February 22, 2016
Rideau River flood control operations begin the week of
February 22, 2016 with the cutting of the keys, weather
permitting. Ice breaking operations, including blasting, are
set to begin the week of March 12, weather and ice
conditions permitting, on the Rideau River between
Rideau Falls and Hog’s Back.
A Reminder to Parents and Teachers
Ice breaking operations will create open water. Children
should be supervised at all times around water and should
be warned of the dangers of open water.
The City, in partnership with the Rideau Valley Conservation
Authority, undertakes ice breaking operations each year to
alleviate possible spring flooding in flood-prone areas. Once
started, these operations will be carried out daily, weather
and ice conditions permitting.
All residents are asked to
keep away from the
river until operations are
completed.
The Smart Growth for Our
Communities Act, 2015, which
reforms the Development Charges
Act and the Planning Act will:
• Help municipalities recover more
money to pay for transit services
and waste diversion;
• Give residents a meaningful say
in how their communities grow
by requiring municipalities to
look at opportunities to better
involve residents in the planning
process for new developments
and enhancing a planning tool
that will be developed with resident and stakeholder input;
• ‎Promote and protect green spaces
by encouraging more municipalities to develop plans that help
determine the need for parkland
in the municipality;
• Help municipalities resolve potential planning disputes earlier
at the local level, such as through
alternative dispute resolution, to
reduce the involvement of the
Ontario Municipal Board in local
disputes;
• Make the planning and appeals
process more predictable by
extending the review of new municipal official plans - plans that
lay out how municipalities will
grow and develop - to 10 years,
instead of five;
• Make the development charges
system - a system for municipalities to help cover the costs necessary for growth from developers more predictable, transparent and
accountable by creating clearer
reporting requirements for capital
projects that municipalities are
financing through development
charges; and
• Make the collection and use of
money paid by developers for
higher and denser developments,
as well as for parkland, more
transparent and accountable.
This legislation is a big win for
Ottawa Centre. Through consultations and continued advocacy,
our community’s voice was
heard. This new law gives residents in Ottawa and across the
province a greater, more meaningful say in how our communities grow.
Protecting Condominium Owners
The Protecting Condominium
Owners Act, 2015 will increase
protections for condominium owners,
improve how condo corporations are
run and ensure that condo boards are
governed professionally.
The new law contains many
changes, such as:
• Clearer, more comprehensive
rules to prevent owners from being surprised by unexpected costs
after purchasing a newly-built
condo;
• A new Condominium Authority
to provide quicker, lower-cost
dispute resolution and help prevent common disputes;
• Strong financial management
rules for condo corporations to
help prevent financial and organizational mismanagement;
• Better governance requirements
for condo boards, including training for condo directors; and
• Mandatory licensing and education requirements for condominium managers.
Ontario plans to move quickly to
deliver on the key commitments of
this act. The province will continue
to consult with members of the public
and stakeholders to gather their
expertise during the development of
regulations and implementation of
this important legislation.
Buying a condo is one of the
most significant investments in a
person’s life. This legislation helps
to protect that investment. Through
public town-halls that I hosted
and continued advocacy from our
community, we were able to make
this legislation stronger to protect
condo owners in Ottawa and across
the province.
If you have any questions or
concerns in regards to either
legislation, I strongly encourage you
to contact me at my Community
Office at ynaqvi.mpp.co@liberal.ola.
org or 613-722-6414. I look forward
to hearing from you.
2015-164_04
To place your ad here,
contact Gayle
oscarads@ottawasouth.ca
THE OSCAR
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MARCH 2016
Page 13
MAYOR’S REPORT
Making Our Roads Safer
By Mayor Jim Watson
Regardless of the season, residents of
Ottawa are always on the move.
Our City Council has made great
efforts to ensure that Ottawa is
accessible to as many residents
as possible. Ottawa consistently
ranks among the best cycling and
pedestrian communities in Ontario.
With more than 5,400 km of
roadways and 1,580 km of sidewalks,
the City of Ottawa is very familiar
with the unique challenges residents
can face on their commute. In fact,
Ottawa even has approximately
40 km of cycling networks
maintained throughout the winter.
No matter what form of
transportation you choose, the City of
Ottawa is committed to ensuring the
safest and most efficient trip possible.
With so many commuters choosing
alternative methods of transportation,
awareness and road safety become
increasingly important.
That is why Council introduced
the innovative Safer Roads Ottawa
Program. Safer Roads Ottawa is a
collaboration between the Ottawa
Fire Services, Ottawa Paramedic
Service, Ottawa Police Service,
Ottawa Public Health and the Public
Works Department.
The program was developed to
prevent or eliminate road deaths
and serious injuries for all residents,
including the most vulnerable users
of our roads and pathways.
Through changing road safety
culture, community engagement and
the development of sustainable safe
transportation environments; SRO
initiatives take a comprehensive
approach to eliminating collision
incidents.
For instance, the “Stay Safe, Stay
Back” campaign focuses the issue of
cycling and driver safety, specifically
when it involves large trucks. The
campaign educates cyclists and heavy
truck operators about the unique
dangers of sharing a roadway, such as
blind spots.
Ottawa’s comprehensive approach
to road safety has produced
encouraging results so far. Reviewing
traffic collision data from 2013
compared to 2014 reflects this
progress. Ottawa has seen:
• Injuries relating to collisions
decrease by 7%
• Total number of reportable
collisions decrease by 2.5%
• Pedestrian collisions decrease by
13%
• Cycling collisions decrease by
21%
• Motorcycle collisions decrease
by 8%
• A new annual fund for
Councillors to invest in traffic
calming initiatives at the
neighbourhood level.
Although we have made great
progress so far, until we have
eliminated road deaths and serious
injuries, we still have much work to
do.
If you would like to learn more
about the Safer Roads Ottawa
Program, please visit www.ottawa.ca.
COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
Public Health Impacts Of Substance (Ab)Use
By David Chernushenko
Living as we are in a time and place
where self-indulgence is arguably
more the norm than the exception
– think bacon-wrapped pizza, party
drugs, and alcohol in every flavour
you can imagine – guardians of
public health face an uphill battle in
trying to preach moderation.
And yet the personal, social and
economic costs of overindulging
all our cravings are high. Today’s
emerging health threats are more
about overeating, overdosing and
extreme drinking than they are about
preventable diseases or even cancer,
as much as those remain a concern.
With this in mind, and in my role
as a member of the city’s Board of
Health, I want to share with you this
month some recent research.
Survey on Excessive Alcohol Use
Ottawa Public Health (OPH)
recently completed a public survey
about the local effects of, and
concerns, about excessive alcohol
use. This is part of OPH’s Strategic
Direction to promote a culture of
moderation and decrease harm
related to alcohol misuse. The project
aims to start a dialogue about the
public’s concerns related to alcohol
use, and to explore options to better
address alcohol-related issues in our
community.
Alcohol consumption is generally
seen as an individual choice, and
the consequences of excessive use
are often overlooked even though
they affect the community at large.
According to the Canadian Public
Health Association, having one or
two drinks per day may lower stress
along with the risk of heart disease
and diabetes, but the negative effects
quickly outweigh the benefits as
consumption increases.
In Ottawa, alcohol continues to
be the most used substance and
causes a greater health burden of
injury and disease than all other
legal or illegal drugs. The impacts
from excessive alcohol use include
physical and sexual assaults, falls,
collisions caused by impaired
drivers or impaired pedestrians,
lost productivity in the workplace,
family violence and breakdown, fetal
alcohol spectrum disorder, cancer and
cirrhosis of the liver.
Every year in Ottawa, about 1,000
adults are hospitalized and 110
people die from factors attributed
to alcohol consumption, and many
more are directly or indirectly
affected. According to OPH, onethird of Canadian adults say that in
the past year they experienced one or
more types of harms resulting from
someone else’s excessive drinking.
I will keep residents informed
about OPH’s work in this area, and
will share the survey results when
they are available.
Cannabis and the Developing
Brain
Medical cannabis may be effective
in alleviating chronic pain and
chemotherapy-induced nausea,
among other applications, but the
effects of regular marijuana use on
young people are another matter, and
worth considering as Canada moves
toward legalizing the drug.
About five years ago, my wife
and I watched a documentary film
on drug use and the developing
brain. With two of our children in
their adolescence at the time, we
found the information intriguing,
and somewhat frightening. In short,
the brain chemistry of teenagers and
young adults is considerably different
than that of mature adults, and the
potential impacts of even moderate
use of “soft” drugs were found to
be much greater than commonly
believed.
Fast forward to today, and the
results of more recent research. OPH
recently participated in a presentation
and panel discussion entitled
“Myth Busting: What the research
evidence actually says about the
effects of youth cannabis use on the
developing brain,” an event hosted
by the Canadian Centre on Substance
Abuse.
Panelists with expertise in
medicine, neuroscience and
developmental and psychosocial
wellbeing shared the key findings
from a new report, The Effects of
Cannabis Use During Adolescence.
The gist is that while cannabis is
popular among young Canadians,
with almost a quarter of 15- to
24-year-olds reporting its use in the
preceding year, most are unaware
of the risks associated with early
and regular consumption. There
is growing evidence that regular
marijuana use during adolescence,
a time of rapid and extensive brain
development, is associated with an
increased risk of addiction, cognitive
impairment and under-performing in
school, as well as causing psychotic
symptoms and even triggering the
onset of schizophrenia.
Read the full report for yourself
at the Canadian Centre on
Substance Abuse web site: www.
ccsa.ca, or let me know if you are
interested in receiving a summary
of that discussion and any other
presentations.
Community Meeting: Ottawa
Police Services & Child Safety
Awareness
Join your neighbours, local
business owners, educators and
community leaders in a gathering at
Hopewell Public School’s Library,
Thursday, March 3rd at 7 pm, to
meet Old Ottawa South’s Community
Policing Officer, Constable Matthew
Hunt.
Cst. Hunt will talk about his role
within the community and how
Ottawa Police Services works with
our neighbourhood.
This is an opportunity to get
accurate information, discuss child
and youth safety, and identify how
best to address potential child
predation so that our community
remains a safe and welcoming one.
Councillor David Chernushenko,
613-580-2487,
David.Chernushenko@Ottawa.ca,
www.capitalward.ca.
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MARCH 2016
Franz Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin at Trinity Anglican on March 19th
By Fabien Tousignant,
Director of Music
As part of their monthly
concert series, Music at
Trinity presents one of Franz
Schubert’s song cycle, Die
Schöne Müllerin (The Maid
in the Mill). This particular
cycle contains a total of twenty
songs inspired by the poems
of Wilhelm Müller. The poems
were published in 1820 and
a few years later, were set to
music by Franz Schubert. Each
song tells a portion of a story
that features typical romantic
themes such as love, hope,
sadness, despair, death and
nature, to name just a few.
Die Schöne Müllerin tells the
story of a young man walking
alongside a brook and arrives
at the mill. He falls in love with
the miller’s daughter but she
prefers a hunter to the young
man. Devastated, he decides to
drown himself in sorrow. Along
with Wintereise, this song cycle
features some of Schubert’s
best music and a cornerstone of
German Lieder.
The recital will be on March
19th at 4:30 pm at Trinity
Anglican Church (1230 Bank
Street @ Cameron) with Denis
Lawlor, baritone and Fabien
Tousignant, piano. Admission is
by voluntary contribution.
PHOTO BY FABIEN TOUSIGNANT
“Horowitz In Moscow”- Maxim Bernard Recreates the Magic in Ottawa
Pianist Maxim Bernard.
By Roland Graham
Among memorable musical events
that have made history – events such
as the premiers of Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony and Stravinsky’s Rite of
Spring – the return of Russian-born
Vladimir Horowitz to Moscow in
1986, after the great pianist had lived
abroad for more than 60 years, has
become legend.
On Sunday, April 20, 1986, the
great pianist, at the age of 82, gave
the performance of a lifetime. In
finer form than he had been in
preceding years, his nearly cancelled
performance to a capacity crowd is
remembered as one of the greatest
live musical events of the past
century.
To commemorate the occasion,
Canadian Maxim Bernard (www.
maximbernard.com) will perform
the very same program Horowitz
gave in 1986, on very nearly its
30th anniversary, here in Ottawa,
in a Master Piano Recital Series
exclusive. The concert is part of
a national tour, culminating in a
performance in Winnipeg that will be
recorded and broadcast nationally on
CBC Radio 2.
A prodigious talent in his own
right, Maxim began piano studies
at the relatively late age of 13. Only
5 years later, at 18, he performed
Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto
with the Edmonton Symphony
Orchestra. Following formative
studies with André Laplante, Maxim
pursued advanced studies with
Menahem Pressler, completing
Master’s and Doctorate degrees at the
University of Indiana.
The laureate of competitions
including the CBC Young Artists
Competition and the Indianapolis
Matinee Musicale Competition,
Maxim’s international career was
launched in 2006 after he won
the International Stepping Stone
Competition. Since then, he has
toured prolifically and appeared as
a soloist with leading orchestras,
among them the Orchestre
Métropolitain of Montréal, with
whom he gave the Canadian premiere
of Alberto Ginastera’s Second Piano
Concerto at the invitation of maestro
Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Recalling the impact and
significance of Horowitz’s great
performance, and the thawing of
East-West relations that made it
possible, this retrospective concert
reminds us of the power of music to
bridge barriers of culture, language,
and class, to say nothing of the
centuries bridged by a program that
encompasses music from Scarlatti to
Rachmaninoff.
Horowitz’s Moscow program
was not conceived merely for the
informed tastes of connoisseurs; it
was to be televised across the USSR
and beyond, and by design, featured
as diverse and accessible a program
as possible.
One review of the event waxed
on about its “magical connection
with the average listener”. From
the baroque and classical periods,
with music of Scarlatti, Mozart and
Schubert; to Russian romantic works
by Rachmaninoff and Scriabin; and
finishing with crowd favourites by
Liszt and Chopin, the program had –
and has – something for everyone.
Maxim’s concert will also feature
Horowitz’s three Moscow encores,
although the audience will not be
expected to clap for as long as they
did in 1986, from which the halls of
the great Moscow conservatory ring
to this day!
People of all ages, piano students,
history buffs and fans of splendidlywritten, intellectually stimulating
music will not want to miss this
event. Tickets, at $30 for adults, $25
for seniors, and $10 for students, can
be purchased at the Leading Note on
Elgin Street, Compact Music in the
Glebe, and through the Southminster
Church Office.
Featuring no less than seven
concerts this season, the MPRS
continues to break down barriers
to fine classical music. Special
group rates and pay-what-you-can
arrangements can be made online at
www.mprs.ca, or by calling 613-8622084.
Master Piano
Recital Series
2015/16 – Concert #5
Wednesday, March 30
7:30pm
Southminster United Church,
15 Aylmer Ave
www.mprs.ca
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MARCH 2016
Page 15
Rideau Chorale Packs the House for its Carmina Burana
Concert and Looks to the Future
By Debbie Rose, Soprano,
Rideau Chorale
On February 6, 2016, the Rideau
Chorale performed its inaugural
concert, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana,
to an enthusiastic, sold-out audience
of over 570 people! As the sea of
smiling faces confirmed, the audience
was as moved by the performance
as the choir, whose four months of
preparation paid off in ways that
surpassed all expectations!
The audience showed its
appreciation for the choir, as well as
for soloists Gary Dahl, Fraser Rubens
and Susan Elizabeth Brown; pianists
Richard Dvorkin and Carol Wiebe;
the Stickato Percussion Quartet; and
Tim Piper’s children’s choir, Chorale
Lyrica, with a rousing standing
ovation.
For its next concert, the Rideau
Chorale will present George Frederic
Handel’s Four Coronation Anthems
with orchestra on Saturday, May
28th.
In both their original versions, as
they will be performed by the Rideau
Chorale, and in their subsequent
adaptations as oratorio choruses
and stand-alone celebratory works,
Handel’s Coronation Anthems have
always been favourites among
classical choral works.
With a mixture of majestic
grandeur and moments of exquisite
tenderness, the full range of Handel’s
genius as a composer for chorus
and orchestra alike manifests itself
throughout the four masterpieces.
As these works are seldom
presented as a complete set with
their full, original orchestration,
this concert will be a rare cultural
Carmina Burana Sizzles at
Southminster
By Ian McMaster
Standing ovations are almost
run-of-the-mill in Ottawa, but
once in a while the joy of a
performance jolts the body to
its feet and smacks the hands
together in pure and heartfelt
spontaneity. And so it was as
the final chord and cymbal
crash rang into the high roof
arches of Southminster United
Church on the first Saturday
night of February.
The evening had begun with
my wife and me nonchalantly
turning up twenty minutes
before the start, expecting
a plentiful supply of unsold
tickets. What greeted us
instead was the polite
response of a sympathetic
volunteer inside the door:
“Sorry, we’re sold out!”
Luck was with us though,
and after adding our names to
the waiting list and outlasting
the latecomers, we ended up
in seats just to the west of the
altar, surrounded by the jostle
and hum of of a capacity
crowd of well over 500
excited, expectant Ottawans.
What followed was a
wonder. From the filing in
of the beaming members of
the Rideau Chorale, to the
hush as conductor Roland
Graham raised his baton,
to the hair-raising minor
chords of the opening verses,
to the intricate precision of
the percussionists, to the
riveting soloists, to the final
triumphant reprise, Carmina
Burana, composed by Carl
Orff in 1935/36 and first
staged in 1937, is a work that
demands rhythmic precision
and harmonic clarity from the
chorus, in a wide variety of
time signatures. The singers’
success on this night was
all the more astonishing
considering that they only
came together about a year
ago, some members never
having sung in a choir
before. Graham has whipped
this enthusiastic group into
remarkable shape.
Carl Orff wrote this
work of 24 movements
for chorus, orchestra and
soloists, but several other
settings can be performed.
This night’s arrangement
was for two chorales,
percussion, two pianos, and
soprano, tenor and baritone
soloists. Each component
contributed perfectly to the
evening. Chorale Lyrica
from Gatineau, under the
direction of Timothy Piper,
interpreted the children’s
verses. Baritone Gary Dahl
brought considerable skill
and experience to bear on
a variety of movements
expressing a variety of
emotions, from the forlorn
to the comically inebriated.
Tenor Fraser Rubens was
equally expressive, carrying
off the difficult falsetto
movement with clarity
and feeling – and comedic
panache. Susan Elizabeth
Brown dazzled with her
expressiveness and mastery
of the very high range that
Orff demands in some of
the movements. On the
instrumental side, the two
pianists, Carole Wiebe
opportunity for the participating
musicians and the attending audience
alike.
Rideau Chorale rehearsals take
place on Tuesdays at Southminster
United Church, located at 15 Aylmer
Avenue (Bank Street next to the
Rideau Canal) from 7:00 pm to 9:00
pm. Registration is $150.00 for the
term, plus music costs. The choir,
which attracts men and women with a
variety of musical backgrounds, also
presents its concerts at the venerable
old church in Old Ottawa South.
The choir accepts new members
throughout the season, scheduling
vocal placements with prospective
singers and the director to determine
their range and ability level.
Interested choristers should contact
the choir through rideauchorale@
gmail.com.
Rideau Chorale is led by Roland
Graham, the well-known Director
of Music at Southminster United
Church. Mr. Graham also produces
the Doors Open for Music at
Southminster weekly noon-hour
concert series and the Master Piano
Recital Series. Roland’s vision for
the choir, in addition to promoting
and presenting beautiful pieces of
music to the public, is to provide
mentorship and opportunities for
aspiring choristers to develop
their musical talents in a safe and
nurturing environment.
Re-discover the joy of singing
and take on the exciting challenge
of developing your musical voice.
Join the Rideau Chorale community
today!
Debbie Rose sings soprano with
Rideau Chorale.
Doors Open For Music
Mar 9 Variations On Corelli
A solo piano recital featuring works by
Brahms, Ravel and Rachmaninov
Magda Boukanan, piano
•
Mar 16The Baroque Affect
A celebration of the high baroque
featuring Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto
No. 6 and Handel’s Gloria for soprano,
strings and continuo
Isabelle Lacroix, soprano
Olivier Philippe-Auguste & Jolani
Domitrovits, violas
Canto Sentimento Strings
Roland Graham, director/continuo
at Southminster Winter 2016 noonhour concert series line-up
•
•
All concerts take place on
Wednesdays at 12:00 pm and last
approximately 45 minutes
Admittance by freewill offering
($10/$20 suggested)
Listings available online at
classymusic.ca
Mar 2 Sanctuary In Sound
Trinity Western University’s Chamber
Choir presents their 2016 tour program of
sacred choral gems, familiar and new
Trinity Western University Chamber
Choir
Dr. Joel Tranquilla, conductor
David Antoniuk, piano
and Robert Dvorkin (on
a 9-foot Steinway lent by
Steinway Galleries) created
an impeccable melodic fabric
for the ensemble. Through it
all, the Stickato Percussion
Quartet gave full and precise
expression to Orff’s rhythmic
vision.
This was an evening of
firsts for me: first experience
of Carmina Burana; first
exposure to the Rideau
Chorale; and first experience
of a sold-out standing room
performance at Southminster
Church. But you can bet I’ll
get my tickets early for the
next performance by this
amazing choir! If you get your
tickets early too, I’ll see you
there.
Ian McMaster is an OOS
resident and participant in
its many pleasures including
skating, skiing, canoeing, the
library, Cedar’s and music!
Mar 23Un Moment D’éternité
Duo Arietis plays music of transcendence
by Beethoven, Brahms and Messiaen
Julie Hereish, cello
Michel-Alexandre Broekaert, piano
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MARCH 2016
l
the
excitement
continues...
Nestled between the Rideau River
and Rideau Canal, a new urban vision
takes
shape.
Rich
in
history
and
nature, Greystone Village is a 26-acre
masterplanned
LEED-ND
candidate
community. Modern, exquisite homes set
around a vibrant central plaza, complete
with pathways, promenades and trails.
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THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 17
New Syrian and Burundi Refugee Sponsorships
(Back row: left to right) Max (Anne-Lyse’s husband), Anne-Lyse and Eliane, holding baby Nahlah (age
10 months). Front row: left to right) Kelsey (age seven), Reverend Arran Thorpe, and Yanis (age six).
The family desperately want to bring their parents and stepsister to Canada away from a life in hiding.
By Georgina Hunter
Syrian Refugees
The Ottawa South Committee for Refugee
Sponsorship is now actively pursuing the
sponsorship of a second Syrian family.
A fresh set of volunteers has joined the
committee to tackle tasks ranging from
transportation, translation, apartment search,
home furnishings, health, education, employment,
clothing to finances.
The committee is appealing to the generosity of
Old Ottawa South residents for financial donations
to add to the funds already raised. Also, the group
will be looking for a host family to accommodate
the family before they move to their own lodgings.
The group hopes that they can apply for a shared
sponsorship with the federal government, referred
to as the Blended Visa Office Referred (BVOR)
where the costs are shared with the government.
Yet a dark cloud looms over the future of the
BVOR ever since the federal government put a
temporary halt on its list of qualifying refugees.
The committee keenly awaits news to see if the
shared costs partnership will continue.
On a happier note, the first sponsored family is
thriving. Jehad and Nirmeen hosted a dinner party
for core committee members and served them an
array of dishes brimming with tabouli, stuffed
grape leaves, tzaziki, and babaganoush.
The couple expressed their gratitude and feel that
the committee volunteers are their new Canadian
family.
Now that their three school age children are
attending school, the parents are free to study
English as a Second Language during the day.
Plus, the family is delighted that eight other Syrian
refugee families have moved into their apartment
building so they can share their experience of
settling into Canada.
The Ottawa South Committee for Refugee
Sponsorship has Trinity Anglican Church as its
base and support. Two other local churches, St.
Margaret Mary, together with OOS residents, and
the Wesleyan Church will also sponsor Syrian
refugee families. These efforts speak to the
generous and caring nature of Old Ottawa South
residents.
Canadians take for granted: The opportunity to live
in peace and freedom. And the chance to introduce
their parents and stepsister to their children:
Kelsey, age seven; Yanis, age six; and Nahlah, age
10 months.
That’s why Trinity Anglican Church is reaching
out to the community on their behalf for muchneeded financial contributions.
“I am excited that so many people were generous
with the Syrians, and I hope that the community
will be equally as generous with the Burundian
family,” says Reverend Arran Thorpe.
The excitement is palpable as he earnestly adds:
“They are our family. They are members of our
community; parishioners who come to church
every Sunday.”
Financial donations will be gratefully received
and tax receipts will be provided. Please make
cheques payable to Trinity Anglican Church.
Be sure to write on the memo line: “to Burundi
refugees”. Mail cheques to: Trinity Anglican
Church, 1230 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K1S 3Y3.
You can also drop off a monthly or one-time
donation at the church on Bank Street at Cameron
Avenue, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Tuesdays to
Thursdays.
For regular updates on the committee’s progress
go to:
• The OSCAR
• Kate Jaimet’s blog at: www.
ottawasouthrefugees.ca
• Facebook page: Ottawa South Committee for
Refugee Sponsorship
• Visit www.oldottawasouth.ca to subscribe to
the OOS weekly e-newsletter News Between
the Bridges
Burundi Refugees
Inspired by our community’s generosity, Trinity
Anglican Church has launched the sponsorship for
an African family. Sisters Anne-Lyse and Eliane,
who are both Trinity parishioners, have agreed to
share their harrowing story of their escape from
Burundi.
As Tutsis living in
Burundi, they suffered
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daily muggings,
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beatings, and lived in
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terror as their cousins
and uncles were
murdered.
They are grateful to
be settled in Old Ottawa
South, far away from
the sectarian violence
and genocide. They
wish that their parents
and stepsister, who live
perilously in hiding, can
$817,500
also find a safe haven in
Canada.
“I fear for my parents’
safety since they are
persecuted for being a
Tutsi” says Anne-Lyse
worriedly.
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“They fled the
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Burundi but they are still
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not safe” adds Eliane,
clutching her baby
Listing
tightly in her lap.
Anne-Lyse and
Eliane, along with
their husbands, work
tirelessly to save funds
Commission
to support their family
in Africa but often the
funds they send are
stolen.
Inspired by Trinity
support, the sisters, have
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filled out applications
barryjhumphrey@gmail.com www.BarryHumphrey.ca
for refugee sponsorship.
The sisters, want
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THE OSCAR
Page 18
Local Artist Invites You to Join the “I, Canada” Project
A work in progress for “I, Canada” entitled: “Moosehead Beer.”
PHOTO BY VANESSA COPLAN
By Vanessa Coplan
personal identity and nationhood:
How do personal memories and
place inform one’s sense of self and
belonging?
​I am of the belief that where we
come from and how we were raised
are critical and determining factors
I​ t began as a kind of compulsion to
remember and record, in stitched
fabric, my nostalgia for teenage
summer camp experiences. Then, it
evolved into a larger exploration of
on who we become and what we
end up doing with our lives. These
thoughts have been the most recent
preoccupation of my artistic practice
and have manifested visually in
my most recent work, which I have
titled the “I, Canada” Project.
The “I, Canada” Project i​s a series
of hand sewn fabric patchworks.
These irregular shaped patches of
recycled wool, felt, and cotton fibers
are hand-stitched together to create
a blanket-shaped piece (approx. 4x5
feet). Words, images, and designs
are stitched into and adhered onto
these patchworks, accompanied
by images of canoes, paddles, and
Canadian sayings or expressions.
Also, songs and references to
popular Canadian culture and poetry
adorn these patchwork creations.
Some of these elements are sewn in
clusters and others in more spacious
arrangements. These deliberate
compositions are arranged for their
visual appeal and their reference
to how things are recalled and
remembered, sometimes in masses,
other times with exceptional clarity,
and others in a distorted haze.
​“I, Canada” will be exhibited later
this year (September-November of
2016) in a group show at the Ottawa
City Hall’s Annex Gallery. The
following year (June-September of
2017), it will be featured as a solo
l
MARCH 2016
exhibition at Almonte’s Mississippi
Textile Museum, commemorating
Canada’s 150th birthday.
An Invitation...
For those of you who sew, you
know how time consuming it can be.
My goal for the “I, Canada” Project
is to make 13 hand sewn patchwork
blankets symbolizing Canada’s
10 provinces and 3 territories. As
a teacher, artist, mother, and wife
(etc.), time is not on my side here.
So, I am reaching out to members
of the community to get help with
my project. I encourage you to
come create a patchwork or two and
make your mark on this multi-part
project. Anything with some kind
of Canadian content is welcome; be
it personal, political, historical, etc.
Everyone is welcome! You don’t
have to be an artist or know how to
sew, there is a place for you! For
example, you can sketch your idea,
write it down, collage it, or simply
hang out with us while we work. For
more information and to see samples
of the work, come to the drop-in
program at the Sunnyside Library on
Saturday March 26th from 10 am to
noon. You can also learn more about
me and my work from my website;
www.vcoplan.ca
Hope to see you on March 26th at
the library!
The Company of Adventurers Takes Part in Shakespeare 400!
By Cynthia Sugars
Viola and the Captain, during the 2014 Company of Adventurers’
production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. PHOTO BY CLINTON LEE
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This year marks the 400th anniversary
of Shakespeare’s death. To celebrate
the occasion, “Shakespeare 400”
festivals have been organized around
the world, from Stratford, England, to
Melbourne, Australia, and several places
in between. The University of Ottawa
is hosting a season-long “Shakespeare
400” Festival of its own, including
plays, concerts, talks, contests (a
Shakespeare insultathon), art exhibits,
and more, culminating in a conference
on “Shakespeare in Canada” on the
weekend of Shakespeare’s April 23rd
birthday.
“Shakespeare 400” will also feature
a production of Twelfth Night by The
Company of Adventurers, an Ottawa
South young people’s theatre company.
For the past five summers, The Company
of Adventurers has been producing an
annual Shakespeare play, performed
outdoors in the community on September
weekends as a fundraiser for local
charities. The Company’s participation in
the “Shakespeare 400” Festival marks a
new departure, as we head indoors to the
Avalon Studio at 738A Bank Street, in
the Glebe.
Featuring a shipwreck, practical jokes,
mistaken identities, a rascally jester,
an uproarious sword fight, and lots of
music, Twelfth Night has long been one
of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies.
Like all Company of Adventurers
productions, this year’s show is ideal
family entertainment, a great way of
introducing kids to Shakespeare. With
a cast ranging in age from 9 to 16, it
includes plenty of music, drama, and
high spirits. Come out and see us! “If
music be the food of love, play on!”
The play will be performed April
17, 18 and 19 at 7:00 pm. Tickets are
$10 for adults, $5 for children (18 and
under) and will be avaliable at the door.
Advance tickets can be purchased by
writing to Cynthia Sugars at
csugars@uottawa.ca
The Company of Adventurers presents
Shakespeare’s
Twelfth Night!
April 17, 18, 19 at 7:00 pm.
Tickets: $10.00 adults; $5.00 children (18 and under)
At the Avalon Studio Theatre, 738a Bank Street (at 2nd Ave.) in the Glebe.
Tickets available from Cynthia Sugars (csugars@uottawa.ca) or
Paul Keen (paul_keen@carleton.ca), or at the door.
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 19
Walking the Camino de Santiago
By Bruce Grant
I recently met with two of my OOS
neighbours to hear the story of their
“Camino”. I refer, of course, to the
Camino de Santiago de Compostela,
an ancient pilgrimage route in Spain
that dates from the ninth century.
In recent years, it has become very
popular, whether as a religious
pilgrimage, a penance, a quest for
personal discovery, or a challenging
adventure.
Wendy Robbins has done it once
before; in 2013, she walked La
Ruta Francés, about 800 km from
Saint Jean Pied du Port, to Santiago.
Last year Wendy and Linda Russell
walked La Ruta del Norte, from Irún
to Santiago.
These are two women who frequently share walks in Ottawa, and
just thought they would like to do
this thing together.
Wendy recalls that the first day on
the Ruta Francés is the hardest, as
you walk uphill all day long into the
Pyrenees, your body not yet hardened by the trail. The Ruta del Norte
is even harder, alternating between
seaside towns and rocky headlands,
connected by ancient steps carved
into the rocks. “The first part was
difficult, and badly sign-posted, just
the first two thirds.” On the map, the
Ruta del Norte appears shorter. In
fact, it’s longer; the map can’t show
you all the twisting and turning, the
upping and downing that make it so.
The Ruta Francés is by far the
most popular, attracting a quartermillion pilgrims per year. It’s a social
happening; the people join up into
wandering tribes, warm friendships
often form along the way. Navigation
is easy: you just follow the group
ahead of you on the well-marked
trail. You may have difficulty getting
your body into an albergue (pilgrim
hostel) for a night’s sleep if you
don’t get there ahead of the crowds.
The Ruta del Norte is quite something else: lightly travelled and not
well marked, it forces you to seek
advice from the residents who speak
only Spanish, Euskadi (Basque) or
Galician. If it’s solitude and intro-
spection that you seek, this is your
route. You may walk all day without
seeing another pilgrim.
Linda and Wendy tell me they met
more pharmacists than pilgrims on
this route, and the pharmacists were
very helpful; they saved the project
from failure. Much more than just
pushing medications across the counter, they got down and treated the
swollen and blistered feet.
On the first day out, they arrived
at a small restaurant, exhausted and
hungry, but still two hours short of
their intended target for this day.
Wendy, using her imperfect Spanish, attempted to order a dish with
anchovies which are reputed to be a
specialty in this region. The waiter
brought a bottle of wine. “Txakoli” it
was called in Euskadi, “Chacolí” in
Castilian. Also a regional specialty,
it’s like Portuguese Vinho Verde, a
light refreshing white wine. What
to do with this unfortunate mix-up?
What else? They emptied the bottle,
were much refreshed and finished the
day on a bus.
Our friends felt no need to walk
every step of the way. There are
many pilgrims who will insist upon
walking the entire journey and sleeping only in the hostels. Wendy said:
“That’s just a mind game.” They
resolved to keep on keeping on, to
never retrace their steps, and to use
whatever transport options were indicated by their situation. They would
get themselves to Santiago one way
or another within their six weeks of
available time.
You have to walk not less than the
last 100 km to get the official “compostela” (certificate of completion).
In the end, they walked about half of
the 830 kilometres and much more
than the last 100. When was the last
time you, dear reader, completed a
walk of some 415 km? Never? Me
too! Well done, Linda and Wendy,
and thanks for sharing the story.
Wendy Robbins and Linda Russell on the Camino.
PHOTO BY ROBBINS AND RUSSELL
FOCUSED. CONFIDENT. SUCCESSFUL.
Bruce Grant, retired Engineer,
layabout, is a resident of OOS. He
hopes readers will bring him other
story ideas.
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THE OSCAR
Page 20
FILM REVIEW
Matt Damon in The Martian
By Tony Wohlfarth
The Martian
Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain
co-star in The Martian, an engaging
sci-fi drama about a NASA astronaut
left for dead on Mars, and the
mission to rescue him from the red
planet.
Astronaut Mark Watney (played by
Matt Damon) is the botanist on the
crew of astronauts on a near-future
mission to the planet Mars. When
the mission experiences a fierce
Martian storm, the crew are forced
to suddenly leave and begin the long
journey back to Planet Earth. Watney
is mistakenly left for dead, but the
creative astronaut has other ideas.
Relying on his scientific training,
Watney makes water, grows crops,
and meticulously manages his scarce
food and oxygen supplies to try to
survive. His ingenuity leads him to a
series of scientific fixes and solutions,
which are fascinating to watch.
Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth,
mission control is in full damage
control – announcing his demise,
then belatedly acknowledging, and
finally embracing, his survival. The
rest of the crew, led by Astronaut
Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) are
initially left in the dark. When they
learn Watney is alive, their return to
Earth is altered to mount a daring
rescue mission.
The script, based on a book
written by software engineer Andy
Weir, is scientifically accurate.
His book is “considered required
reading” at NASA, and has garnered
widespread praise, including from
Canadian astronaut Chris Hatfield.
Less successful is the depiction of
the mission’s geo politics, as other
nations offer to help with the rescue.
These scenes felt contrived and, at
times, seem to reinforce stereotypes.
While the ending is predictable,
The Martian manages to keep its
audience engaged. Full credit goes to
Damon, whose performance garnered
a best acting nomination for the
2016 Oscars. At the Golden Globes,
Damon won the award for best actor.
The Martian received a total of
seven Academy Award nominations,
including for Best Picture, Best
Writing, Sound Editing, Production
Design and Special Effects. Many of
these nominations reflect the film’s
technical prowess including its 3D
imagery.
Directed by Ridley Scott, from
the UK, The Martian premiered at
the 2015 Toronto International Film
Festival last September.
l
MARCH 2016
doping from a mysterious Italian
doctor, Michelle Ferrari (played by
Guillaume Canet). The Program
also features a cameo appearance by
Dustin Hoffman – playing himself.
Armstong was a high performance
athlete like no other. His brand was
built on a series of lies and deceit.
Armstrong’s lies were re-enforced
by the complicity of teammates
and a series of lawsuits he initiated
against his detractors. Frears’ film
meticulously dissects each of these
events with interviews and the
recreations of real life events. Frears’
fierce “pull no punches” style is
www.cochranephoto.com
Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong in The Program
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The Program
Stephen Frears directs this
devastating biographical drama about
the rise and fall of Lance Armstong,
winner of the gruelling Tour de
France seven times from 1999 to
2005. A testicular cancer survivor,
Armstrong’s comeback at the Tour
de France in 2009 inspired tens of
thousands of cancer survivors to
embrace the athlete and his message
of positive thinking. Armstrong’s
foundation, LiveStrong, has raised
millions for cancer research and
countless fans sport its yellow wrist
bands and other sports gear. In 2012,
Armstrong was stripped of all his
awards and honours following an
investigation by the US Anti-Doping
Agency. Frears directs Ben Foster in
the role of Lance, and Foster nails
the role as an abrasive athlete who
demanded nothing short of blind
loyalty from all his friends and
associates.
The Program is based on a book
by a resolute Irish journalist for
The Sunday Times, David Walsh.
Walsh’s book, Seven Deadly Sins,
was the basis of the script. As well,
Walsh stars in the film. Armstrong
sought out performance enhancing
refreshing, as the British director
tackles an American icon whose
fall from grace was nothing short of
spectacular.
The Program had its world
premiere at the 2015 Toronto
International Film Festival. Frears’
storied filmography includes hits
like My Beautiful Laundrette (1985),
Dirty Pretty Things (1987) and
Philomena (2013). In The Program,
Frears turned to John Hodge
(director of Trainspotting) to write
the screenplay, and this duo have
produced a compelling biopic.
The Martian was released on October
4th and is screening at the Rainbow
Cinema. For all movie show times,
check www.cinemaclock.com
The Program has its Ottawa
premiere at the Mayfair Theatre
beginning March 18th. Check http://
mayfairtheatre.ca. The running time
is 103 minutes.
Tony Wohlfarth is an Ottawa-based
freelance film writer and critic. He
covered the 2015 TIFF on behalf of
The OSCAR.
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 21
CINEMA
Tibet on the Edge: 2016 Film Festival
By Edwinna von Baeyer and
Val Swinton
The 2016 Ottawa Tibet Film Festival
is using a new lens to give Ottawans
a glimpse of what is happening in
modern Tibet. Although there will be
a variety of topics addressed in the
films, the focus of this year’s lineup
at the Mayfair Theatre is the toll that
resource extraction and development
is taking on the rivers, grasslands
and mountain areas of Tibet - and its
people.
Tibet is the Earth’s highest region.
From here flow many of the world’s
major rivers: the Yangtze, Yellow,
Indus, Mekong, the Ganges and
others. It is no wonder that Tibet
has been called the “water tower” of
Asia, and that the region is attracting
investment in water projects; projects
that are developing hydro dams to
support industrial development and
diverting water to populations in
north and west China.
In the last decade, deposits of over
a hundred different minerals have
been identified under the Tibetan
Plateau. There is an estimated one
trillion dollars worth of zinc and
copper alone, quantities that will
double China’s reserves. Seven
Canadian companies are currently
involved in mining projects in Tibet.
There is also an estimated 10 billion
tonnes of oil and natural gas waiting
to be exploited. Millions of Tibetan
nomads, traditional custodians
of Tibetan grasslands, have been
relocated to urban settlements to
open up these areas for industrial
development.
China needs these resources for its
growing economy, but critics worry
that their extraction will harm Tibet’s
fragile ecosystem and undermine
Tibetan culture, a culture that invests
mountains and nature with spiritual
significance.
“The environmental films
showcase Tibet in a new and
worrisome way - we see the perils of
unbridled development in a region
important not only to Tibet and its
people, but also to the entire Asian
subcontinent,” says Floriane Tsering,
organizer of the Festival.
The 4th annual Ottawa Tibet
Film Festival is an initiative of
the Ottawa Tibetan Community
Association, which was formed
in 2014 by Tibetans who arrived
in Ottawa over the past few years
under an agreement between the
Dalai Lama and the Government of
Edwinna von Baeyer is a longstanding Old Ottawa South resident,
and Val Swinton, a former resident.
Both are volunteers with the Ottawa
Tibetan Resettlement Project and
strong supporters of the Ottawa Tibet
Film Festival.
A snowman sits on one of the Benches in Percy Taverner
Park on Woodbine Place. PHOTO BY BRENDAN MCCOY
Let’s Talk
Seen in Percy Taverner Park
Canada. Some of the proceeds from
the Festival will be donated to the
Tibetan Resettlement Project Ottawa,
which has assisted more than 60
Tibetans to settle in Ottawa, and is
preparing to welcome another 34 by
the end of May.
Starting at noon on Sunday, March
20th and closing at 8:30 pm, the day
will combine films and discussion. To
learn more, visit the website at www.
ottawatibetfilmfestival.com or call
613-293 7970.
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THE OSCAR
Page 22
l
MARCH 2016
MUSIC
Fred Pellerin: “Plus Tard Qu’on Pense” (It’s Later Than You Think)
Fred Pellerin.
By Catherine Read
PHOTO BY J FRANCOIS GRATTON
multi-instrumentalists. His songs are
delightful, accessible to Anglophone
and Francophone audiences alike.
Fred Pellerin charmed and
Fred Pellerin is the country mouse
entertained a sold-out house in
who
stays home and enjoys his life in
Gatineau’s Maison de Culture, on
a
rural
setting among the inhabitants
Monday and Tuesday night on the
of the village where his family has
first stops of his 49-concert tour of
lived for seven generations. All
Québec, France and Switzerland.
his stories concern the characters
Who is Fred Pellerin? He is a writer,
of Saint Elie-de-Caxton. One
storyteller, singer, songwriter based
tour revolved around Mayo, the
in his home village of Saint Eliedipsomaniac hairdresser. He too
de-Caxton, nestled in the hills of
is a storyteller, gossip and source
the Mauricie, in Québec. He is the
of village information who would
darling of Québec audiences for
cut hair all day as he tippled. In
his delightfully amusing, and often
fact, villagers could look at another
fanciful tales of life, in this tiny
Québeçois village and the characters, villager and figure out at what time
of day Mayo had “coiffed” their
including elves, which inhabit it.
hair: the later in the day, the stranger
This concert was different from his
the “coif”. While spinning his tales,
previous tours because, instead of
Fred will break into song, with his
storytelling, he was performing his
pure, disarmingly sincere delivery.
songs (although the stories burst
It’s tempting to contrast him with
forth exuberantly from time to
GMSElemAdGeoGR15.pdf
1
15-02-04
1:12 PM
that famous
city mouse who left
time), along with a talented group of
rural Québec for the bright lights of
America and the allure of Las Vegas
to make her fame and fortune. They
are at opposite ends of a spectrum.
Fred Pellerin appears natural and his
singing voice is devoid of artifice.
One of his best-known songs is
“Mille après mille”. If you look for
this on You Tube, you will find one
version with Céline Dion herself,
the country mouse and the town
mouse serenading each other. Oddly,
it works. Both voices meld well
together and the song is superb.
Another of the personages who
populates Saint Elie-de-Caxton is the
whispering vagabond who appears to
live in the park for the entire summer.
Parents have forbidden their kids
from going to the park because of
this suspect character. However, a
daring nine-year-old Fred asks the
old man why he whispers all the
time. His answer is that when he was
young, he used to shout out loud to
change the world. Now that he is old,
he whispers so that the world will not
change him.
I first discovered this Québeçois
gem at Sunnyside Public Library
where Fred’s DVD of “Arracheuse
du Temps” was on express view. My
French is fluent but not perfect but
I laughed and laughed as I watched
this video. The more I watched,
the better I understood the text and
the numerous word plays, and the
more I was drawn into the life of the
village and its inhabitants. In fact,
Saint Elie-de-Caxton is booming, its
population growing mainly due to
Fred Pellerin’s stories. In summer,
people flock to the village to search
out the various characters and their
dwellings. They buy souvenirs and
even steal the elf crossing signs
that Fred erected. So much so
that the Ministry of Transport has
now erected an official “LUTINS”
crossing sign in the village.
Fred Pellerin is much appreciated
in Quebec and now among the
French-speaking world for his story
telling, humor and music. He was
honored with a Felix award for
“Plus Tard Qu’on Pense” and, at this
ceremony, he gave a stirring speech
honoring Gilles Vigneault. After the
train wreck which devastated Lac
Mégantic, Fred Pellerin was one of
the artists who entertained at a benefit
singing his moving version of “Tenir
debout”.
If you don’t fancy a road trip along
the beautiful north shore of the St
Laurent to Saint Elie-de Caxton, you
can take a virtual tour of the village
on Pellerin’s website. His CDs, books
and DVDs are at the library; he is
touring his show throughout Québec
from February to April; YouTube
has many clips of his performances,
songs, stories and TV appearances. I
hope you will listen to this artist and
enjoy his talent: a Canadian treasure.
Like the members of the audience
leaving the packed Théatre Odyssée
in Gatineau last week, you will
certainly end up with a smile on your
face.
17th
Southminster
Scout Group
Register TODAY at myscouts.ca!
C
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CM
MY
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For boys and girls!
Southminster United
Church
(downstairs in the
Fellowship Hall)
Beaver Scouts
(ages 5-7, Wed. 6:30-7:30)
Cub Scouts
(ages 8-10, Mon. 6:30-8:00)
Scouts (ages 11-14, Tues. 7:00-9:00)
Venturer Scouts
(ages 14-17, Tues. 7:00)
For more information contact:
southminsterscouts@rogers.com
Scouts Canada program information: www.scouts.ca
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 23
SECOND THOUGHTS
Elephants in the Room
By Richard Ostrofsky
When we speak of ‘an elephant in the
room,’ we’re trying to call attention
to some fact or risk or danger that no
one wants to mention or deal with.
What all definitions stress is the
obviousness of what is not discussed,
and the reluctance not just to mention
but to even consciously perceive the
enormous ‘beast.’ Perhaps it would
be rude or impolitic to bring the
matter up. Perhaps it is taboo in some
way, like the sexuality of children in
Freud’s Vienna. It may be that there
is active denial of some reality. But
there is another possibility also: It
may be that the ‘elephant’ is invisible
because it is ubiquitous, and too
habitually familiar to be noticed.
Like proverbial fish in water, we
don’t perceive what is unchanging
all around us. “Information is a
difference that makes a difference,”
as Gregory Bateson elegantly defined
it. If it’s all around, or too large to be
affected by anything we might do,
there’s really no point in bothering to
see it. Is there?
I have long made a hobby of this
phenomenon – of trying to see what
is ubiquitous but not visible in my
world. I think there is some point
in trying to see such ‘elephants’
in a room – not for any pragmatic
reason, but to make our lives a little
less absurd, in the existentialist’s
philosophical sense. In this month’s
column, I’ll point out six such
‘elephants’ that I have noticed over
the years, inviting comment by email
from readers about these and any
other such beasts which may have
caught their attention.
The first of these is a contradiction,
right at the heart of our social
system – the need for civic trust in a
complex society of hyper-specialized,
self-interested individuals. Your
relationship to your garage mechanic
is a paradigm case, unfair to actual
mechanics because it applies as
well to almost every one of your
economic and other relationships.
We depend on one another in myriad
ways but, first and foremost, we’re
for ourselves. That is as it must be
and should be, but it’s a contradiction
nonetheless – and one we must
contain and manage somehow.
A second, related contradiction is
the need of modern organizations
(including nations) for citizens and
workers who are alert and zealous in
the corporate interest, but apathetic
or unmindful of their own. Citizens
and workers who are, in any case,
obedient to laws passed by elites
and centrally designed to keep the
masses docile and serviceable. Now
this situation has always existed to
some extent, but there was a time
when the world’s work could be done
by slaves, slaves whose main private
interest was to avoid the overseer’s
whip and eat from time to time. From
their owners’ perspective, the more
ignorant and passive such slaves
remained, the better. Beginning
roughly in the 19th century, a higher
grade of labour came to be needed.
Slavery and serfdom were abolished
and compulsory education became
the norm in every developed or
developing nation, but with the
contradiction I’ve just described.
Workers had to be trained, though
not really educated, and had to
be motivated to work as hard and
intelligently as possible, for a profit
that someone else would take. In
some precarious way, our society
has solved the problem with the
free labour market and compulsory
schooling, along with the modern
suburb and shopping mall. Modern
people must train and compete to
the utmost of our abilities for the
privilege of a position that pays a
living wage. Our beliefs and desires
are managed with great skill through
manipulative advertising and ‘public
relations.’ We can rise in status by
purchasing endless products that we
don’t really need. We are offered
endless distractions to keep us from
paying attention to anything that
really matters. Still, this system
isn’t quite working: there is massive
technological displacement and
unemployment; there are signs that
people are getting anxious and angry;
and more than a few are waking up.
This is a second elephant in the
room – a very big one.
The third I would mention
here is an adverse tendency of
democratic politics to organize a
nation into mutually hostile and
suspicious ‘factions,’ defined (by
James Madison in Federalist 10)
as “a number of citizens, whether
amounting to a minority or majority
of the whole, who are united and
actuated by some common impulse
of passion, or of interest, adverse
to the rights of other citizens, or
to the permanent and aggregate
interests of the community.” Again,
this will happen to some extent
under any system of government,
but democracy as we know it gives
full scope for such polarization of
the body politic. In the long run,
without a spirit of compromise
and mutual accommodation,
democratic societies tend either
to tear themselves apart or to
be taken over by a charismatic
dictator.
A fourth elephant in our
room today is the contradiction
between our ideal of human
equality, and the brute fact
that human individuals really
are significantly and unfairly
different. It’s not just that some
people are stronger or more
intelligent or more unscrupulous
than others. Our differences go
much deeper than that down to a
level of gender and temperament
and existential orientation. Some
people are solitary hunters by nature;
others show a more communal
and cooperative disposition. There
are thymotic types who seek high
achievement and recognition, and
most others who want a tranquil life.
There are pragmatists who care about
getting things done, and intellectuals
who care about ideas. There are
male people and female people – and
many who do not fit neatly into either
category. We think there should be
a single law for everyone, and that
all should be equal before it. But
“One law for the lion and the lamb
is tyranny,” as William Blake said.
We do not know how to make due
allowance for such innate human
differences, and we don’t really want
to talk about it.
A fifth ‘elephant’ is fairly well
known to social theorists, but too
abstract to find much place in public
discourse. It’s the progressive
offloading of human skill and
knowledge – human capabilities of
every description – into increasingly
sophisticated artifacts and systems.
Of course, such offloading has been
going on at least since the old stone
age, but it seems to be reaching some
sort of climax now, in our own or
our children’s time, driving toward
some outcome (‘the singularity’ it
has been called) that we can scarcely
imagine, much less control. We
become more interdependent – more
helpless as individuals, but much
more powerful in groups. There is
a dumbing down of people as our
libraries get smarter. But there’s an
effect in the other direction as well.
At least some people are greatly
empowered by the social contacts,
information resources and tools at
their disposal. In this way, increasing
income inequality can be understood
as an effect of distributed cognition
– more specifically, of the widening
gap between those positioned to
understand and master the complex
systems at their disposal, and those
who are merely instrumental to such
systems, or not needed by them at all.
And the sixth ‘elephant,’ the last
I will mention here, is a subtle sideeffect of science and technology,
of modernity itself. Everyone sees
that modern knowledge has changed
the terms of industrial production,
commerce and the projection of
military power. Everyone knows that
modern medicine has lengthened
human life, and enlarged its terms.
Less clearly seen is the impact of
modern science on human selfunderstanding and worldview –
on what was traditionally called
‘religion’; less clearly seen is the
impact of modern technology on the
terms of human existence and human
association – and thus on the terms
of political and moral discourse.
Very many people today, billions
probably, want the perks and powers
and gadgets of modernity but want
to keep their identities and beliefs
unchanged. Predictably, this isn’t
going to happen.
At least these six ‘elephants,’ too
big to be easily seen, or engaged
directly through politics and policy,
are at the root of our current conflicts
and ‘culture wars.’ As individuals,
we surely cannot do much to change
them. But today’s world becomes
less meaninglessly chaotic when we
allow ourselves to be aware of their
presence.
• wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_in_
the_room
• www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/gorilla_experiment.html
Richard Ostrofsky, formerly of Second Thoughts Bookstore in OOS, now
lives in Montreal near his daughter
and grandchildren, but still writes
his monthly column for OSCAR on
whatever catches his interest. www.
secthoughts.com, reostrofsky@gmail.
com.
THE OSCAR
Page 24
l
MARCH 2016
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
We Only Get One Brain: Prevention and Treatment of Concussions
•
•
•
Physiotherapist Lorein Estephan-Mezher demonstrates balance exercises
on a BOSU Ball that could be provided to a patient following a concussion.
By Lorein Estephan-Mezher,
Physiotherapist
As a physiotherapist, I regularly treat
patients with concussions. Workrelated and motor-vehicle accidents,
sports injuries and falls are how most
people suffer from concussions.
We all can take steps to prevent
concussions. Even if some sports
have a higher risk for concussions gymnastics, baseball, rugby, football,
figure skating and soccer - it is
important to follow simple rules to
reduce the severity of the symptoms
associated with concussions.
•
Wear a quality helmet that fits
correctly, with the straps firmly
secured, during activities such
Footsteps
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through our amazing facility!
visit: www.sunnysidefootsteps.com
call now: (613) 236-3000
as biking, skating, skiing and
skateboarding.
Be sure to keep well hydrated
so you don’t become dizzy or
confused.
Take adequate rests as
this prevents exhaustion.
Remember that it’s time to stop
before the shoulders drop.
Build up children’s neck and
upper shoulder muscle in
order to help support the head
movement during impact.
Besides concussions occurring
while playing sports, concussions
frequently occur after motor vehicle
accidents and falls. Remember falls
can happen anywhere: the school
playground, slippery sidewalks and
on ladders and stairs.
It is crucial to know the symptoms
of concussions so the injured can
rapidly seek treatment. Did you know
that about 80% of concussions occur
without a loss of consciousness?
The main symptoms are: headache,
confusion, and amnesia.
Other symptoms may present in
the days following a blow to the
head. They are: headache, visual
and hearing impairment, lethargy,
insomnia, memory impairment,
imbalance, vertigo, lack of awareness
of surroundings, nausea and
vomiting, mood changes, cognitive
disturbances, and sensitivity to light
and noise.
Some concussion related symptoms
might even go undiagnosed. For
example, when an elderly person
falls, they may present symptoms
that are identical to those of old age:
forgetfulness, fatigue, irritability,
slowed reaction times and sleep.
As a result, their symptoms can
be dismissed and they miss out on
much-needed treatment.
Since the majority of concussions
occur during a sporting activity, the
key lesson for everyone involved
in these sports - students, parents,
teachers and coaches - is to recognize
the symptoms of concussions so they
can be safety treated.
Immediately following the
concussion, a player needs to be
out of the game until they are fully
healed.
Next, the athlete needs to be
assessed by expert healthcare
professionals that deal with
concussions on a regular basis and
will often refer to physiotherapy.
The physician will recommend a
reduction in light stimulation and this
includes no use of any electronics
including: TV, texting, ipods or
videogames as the brain heals better
without excessive visual stimulation.
In addition, the health care
professional may suggest some time
off school. The standard time spent
away from school is from one to two
weeks with a slow re-integration
back to school when symptoms start
to reduce. When symptoms decrease
further, more homework can be
added and tests and exams can be
written in quiet rooms.
A player may only return to play
or practice once they are medically
evaluated and follow medically
supervised protocols.
As a physiotherapist, I will
always treat the neck musculature of
concussion patients by loosening up
the muscles around the neck; this is
necessary to prevent headaches due
to muscular problems.
Also, specific neck mobilizations,
mild physical re-training on exercise
bikes, walking, and low weights are
slowly integrated. The intensity of
the exercises can be increased over
time. Exercises to correct balance,
coordination and visual impairments
are always part of a balanced
concussion treatment protocol.
Dr. Kristian Goulet is a pediatrician
specializing in concussions and head
injuries for children, educates health
care professionals about the signs of
concussion and about new treatment
protocols available. His concussion
clinic is located in the same building
as our physiotherapy clinic at 1355
Bank St.
Concussions are on most Canadian
parents’ minds since Rowan Stringer,
a 17-year old Ottawa teen, died in
2013, after playing rugby for her high
school team.
The inquest into her death
captured national media attention.
The jury came up with 49 sweeping
recommendations calling for
provincial school boards, ministries
and sports organizations to prevent
concussion-related deaths.
One of the recommendations is to
pass a law with the goal of protecting
young athletes from the dangers
of concussions. To that end, the
Government of Ontario will likely
adopt the first concussion legislation
in Canada.
The Ontario legislature debated
last December what is dubbed as
Rowan’s Law to govern all youth
sports both at school and outside.
If you have suffered from a
concussion recently or years ago,
please call our office and we
will work with your health care
professional to help you return to
play/school or return to normal
activities. If you are 19 years and
younger or over 65 years old,
you are eligible for OHIP-funded
physiotherapy treatments at Quality
Care Physiotherapy.
Lorein Estephan-Mezher PT, is
a registered physiotherapist and
clinic director at Quality Care
Physiotherapy, 1355 Bank street,
Suite 105A, and she can be reached
at: www.qcphysio.com or 613-5263333.
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 25
TASTY TIDBITS FROM TRILLIUM BAKERY
Is Your Tummy Grumbling? How to Get the Most from What You Eat
By Jocelyn Leroy
Mindful Eating
To clarify an old adage, we are not
what we eat, but what we properly
digest and absorb (physiologically
speaking). How we eat our foods is
as important as what we eat. In order
to ensure that you and yours receive
the maximum benefit from what you
eat, please consider these points:
• Try to relax before you eat or
drink. We do not digest properly
when we are anxious. The dinner
table is no place for heated
debate or argument.
• Give thanks for what you are
about to consume. More than
60 million people will die of
starvation in our world this year.
Every day, all day long, children
starve to death; therefore,
whatever you eat, appreciate the
opportunity. You don’t have to be
religious to be grateful.
• Drink most of your fluids
between or before meals. This
practice minimizes the dilution
of important digestive enzymes
when you need them the most.
• Chew thoroughly. Mom always
said, “Digestion begins in the
mouth,” and, even in her 90s,
she had no digestive problems.
Likewise, slowly sip liquid foods
such as soups, smoothies and
protein shakes.
• Review the principles of “food
combining,” set forth later in
this article. Different foods
require different enzymes and
digestive processing. This is
especially important for those
people with digestive or gastrointestinal challenges. Beyond
prescribing medication, an
informed dietician, naturopath,
chiropractor or medical doctor
can be of much help – they are
trained in how our digestive
systems work and how they like
to be treated for maximum health
and comfort.
• Don’t overeat.
• Eat dessert foods sparingly, at
least an hour after your lunch or
dinner.
Be conscious of how you feel
before, during and after all meals.
This will help you to know when
you’ve met your true needs. Try to
eat so as to feel at least as well after
you eat as you did before. You don’t
have to feel bloated or lethargic:
these feelings may not stem from
Sizzling Black
Bean Soup
This is a fragrant, spicy soup
providing exceptional nutrition
and soothing warmth.
Ingredients
• 2-4 cups black beans,
cooked
• 2 litres broth of your choice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 whole small orange,
washed
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ cup oil (sesame, olive, or
pure canola) of water, for
sautéing.
• 1 cup diced onion
• ¾ cup diced celery (with
some leaves)
• 1 cup diced red and yellow
peppers, seeded
• 1 small hot pepper, seeded
and minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp basil
• ½ cup finely chopped parsley
Directions
Mix ingredients together and
simmer for approx. 1 hr.
Optional: Add a little rice or
pasta for more “heft.”
Grate orange and squeeze the
juice into the soup at any time
during the cooking.
Optional: add 1 cup cabbage +
chard 15 minutes before serving.
If you can tolerate dairy
products, you can process this
soup with buttermilk. If not, you
may choose a non-dairy milk.
Optional: take out ½ of the
finished soup and blend it; pour
it back into the pot and stir well
to give an ideal thickness, with a
few colourful bits remaining to
please the eye and palate.
When serving, sprinkle fresh
parsley on top, and, if desired, a
little dill and black pepper.
Serve hot or chilled.
Note: If you choose to cook the
beans overnight before making
the soup, add the cinnamon stick
and the whole peeled orange to
the boiling beans.
Enjoy with Trillium’s Maritime
Molasses Brown Bread or Upper
Canada Loaf or Garlic Baguette.
To your good health!
the types of food you’re eating, but
instead from how you’re eating them.
I have seen this realization dawn on
many of Trillium’s customers after
having listened to their digestive
complaints over the years. Suddenly,
an epiphany – good news: improved
gut health when they practice the
principles of mindful eating and food
combining.
Of course, there are instances
where food allergies and diagnosed
medical conditions require
limitations or cessation in consuming
certain foods. And sometimes, after
years of wrongful eating habits,
enough damage has occurred that the
digestive system can’t repair itself,
especially in the short term.
Food Combining
• Proteins (found commonly
in seeds, nuts, dairy, beans,
legumes, fish, poultry, all meat,
wild game and seafood) combine
well with non-starch vegetables,
i.e., those with a high water
content (all green vegetables,
onions). Proteins combine poorly
with starches and fruit.
• Fruit is best eaten alone, not with
proteins or starches. Melons and
citrus fruit usually do not mix
well with other fruits.
• Starches go well with the highwater-content vegetables and
poorly with fruits or proteins.
Starches are found in grains,
pastas, rice, corn, all potatoes,
squash, eggplant, avocado and
root vegetables such as beets,
carrots, turnips and parsnips.
• The poor combinations
present considerable digestive
challenges; the good present few.
Diet Changes
Those of you who have worked
closely with animals know how
significantly even minor shifts in diet
can affect their digestive systems and
thus their overall health. Humans are
no different. Drastic shifts produce
drastic effects. For example, if your
diet has been relatively low in whole
fresh fruits, fresh raw vegetables,
grains, seeds and legumes, it will
take time for your system to learn to
process these well. If such changes
are uncomfortable, simply eat smaller
amounts and ease into these changes
by steaming your vegetables rather
than suddenly eating them raw.
Jocelyn Leroy is the owner/manager
of Trillium Bakery in Old Ottawa
South since 1980.
THE OSCAR
Page 26
l
MARCH 2016
BETWEEN THE BRIDGES BABY
You Didn’t Hear It From Me
By Heather Lynch
“Why doesn’t anyone tell you how
crazy hard the first few weeks are?”
she asked. “I honestly don’t know,”
I replied quietly. “Maybe because
we’re embarrassed?” It’s eight
o’clock on Saturday night and I am
walking our dog through Windsor
Park and talking on my cellphone to
a woman I have been friends with
since I was three. Though she lives in
Montreal and I don’t see her nearly
as often as I’d like, she remains
one of my closest confidantes. She
gave birth to a baby boy nearly 12
weeks ago, and as she described it,
is only now coming up for her first
few breaths of air. “I felt like a crazy
person – dragging myself and this
tiny little baby to every lactation
consultant in the city, beating myself
up for not being able to feed him and
yet feeling like the biggest failure in
the world for reaching for a bottle
full of formula. How did this happen?
Also, I kind of hate my husband a
tiny bit and I won’t leave him in
the same room alone with the baby
because I don’t trust him to take care
of him as well as I can, but I am so
tired I feel like I could die - what is
happening to me?!”
“Motherhood,” I said. “It’s a kick
in the head at the start. And in the
middle. And probably forever.” I
confided in her that when Logan
was about eight days old I called my
mother in tears (and not hysterical
ones, either, but in tears that come
from the depths of your desperate-
feeling soul) and told her that I
needed her to promise that if I
couldn’t hack this whole ‘beinga-mom’ thing, that she would take
Logan for me and raise him. I
stopped short of asking her to put it
in writing but I refused to hang up
the phone until she had promised
me. That it didn’t occur to me that
perhaps Jeff may take issue with
me giving our son away, speaks to
the crazy hormonal mess I was at
the time. But I felt so profoundly
incapable of being a mother that I
didn’t see any other solution apart
from my mom taking this baby home
and Jeff and I continuing on with our
lives where we slept for more than
90 minutes at a time and read the
newspaper on Sunday mornings and
I wasn’t forced to shower at 3:00 am
if I was going to shower at all, and
do laundry fifteen times a day. I just
didn’t see any other way.
I read a lot of ‘mommy blogs’
these days and while most of them
are wonderful and help create a
virtual space for parents to feel
supported and understood, I feel like
I am always looking for a bit more
truth, a bit more validation that goes
beyond the, ‘oh, today was a really
bad day but I took five minutes to
sit alone with a cup of tea and then
we all made cookies and coloured
and went to bed happy.’ Where is
the confession from the mother who
locked (no, literally Locked The
Door) to her bathroom and sobbed
into a glass of wine at 3:00 in the
afternoon after a day of dragging
Record One-Day Snowfall
After a relatively warm and mild winter, with little snow, on February 16th a
massive snow storm dumped a record 51.2 cm in a single day on Ottawa. It
broke the previous record, set in 1947, and left the neighbourhood covered in a
blanket of white.
PHOTO BY BRENDAN MCCOY
her two kids to the doctor where her
toddler son smashed a muffin into
the physician’s computer keyboard
and her infant nearly rolled off the
examination table while she tried to
clean it up? Where is the story from
the mother who opens her eyes in the
morning after being up four times
to feed a baby and change diapers
in between the hours of midnight
and 5:30am and thinks to herself,
‘I’m not sure I can do another day
of this. I think I may actually break.’
Where is the parent who admits that
sometimes trying to text message
your boss at work while holding a
baby who is clawing at your face, or
visiting the washroom with two out
of your three family members, isn’t
funny, or cute, it’s really, really hard
and makes you want to hit your head
on something, or cry, or run away. Or
all three. Where is the blog that tells
you that you will feel so incredibly
alienated from your friends who
don’t have kids and when they come
over for supper and sit on your couch
and talk about weekend plans that
don’t include playgroups, tummy
time or community-centre baby-salsa
class, that you will simultaneously
want to punch them in the face for
not realizing how fortunate they are
to be able to stay out past 10:00 pm,
and to sleep in on Sunday morning,
and wanting to punch yourself in
the face, because of course no one
forced you to have kids, and you
used to be able to do all those fun,
single-person, or couple-without-kids
things, you just didn’t realize how
awesome that was at the time.
“And so anyway, I guess it’s
getting better now. I’ve given up the
whole breast-feeding thing, and so
that pressure is gone, and he sleeps
pretty well so far. I do really love
being a mom, Heather. It’s the best
thing that ever happened to me.” I
paused for a minute. “I’m sure it is
the best thing that ever happened to
you,” I told her. “It’s the best thing
that ever happened to me, too.” But
I won’t lie to you, and you might not
ever find a ‘mommy blog’ that says
this, but it’s okay to feel sometimes
like being a mom is the worst thing
that ever happened to you, too.
Because sometimes admitting that
just gives yourself some space to feel
like a person, not just a mom, again.
To think about the things you want
apart from four consecutive hours
of sleep and a toothbrush you don’t
have to share. Because admitting it
may make you feel like a ‘bad mom,’
but it may also help another mom
realize she’s a good one, because she
isn’t alone in feeling that way. After
all - she’s only human. Just a really,
really tired one.
THE OSCAR
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MARCH 2016
Page 27
COMPUTER TRICKS AND TIPS
Buying a New Computer
By Malcolm and John
Harding, of Compu-Home
therefore they are not quite such a
bargain.
Since we do service only, and don’t
sell equipment, you might think that
we would like to keep on repairing
your old computer forever. Not so;
eventually, there are problems and
frailties that accumulate to the extent
that what was state of the art such
a short time ago has to be replaced.
Here are a few bits of guidance on a
new purchase. There have been many
developments and changes since our
last column two years ago on this
subject. The following refers to both
laptop and desktop models, unless
specifically noted.
Manufacturer
There is not currently a
manufacturer that we would
automatically rule out. Evolution
and the marketplace have narrowed
the field. Everyone makes a lemon
now and then – that’s where online
reviews can be helpful. A business
as small as ours can only judge
anecdotally, but we consider Asus,
Acer, Lenovo, Dell and Hewlett
Packard to be solid choices. Apple,
of course, has a stellar reputation
for hardware, with a stellar price to
match.
New or Refurbished
In the case of desktop computers, a
refurbished unit is often a worthwhile
consideration but there are fewer
refurbished laptops available and
Price
A so-called “bottom of the line”
($500 – $600) machine has the specs
to handle easily most people’s needs
and much more. It would take a very
convincing argument and specific
need to convince us to spend much
more than $600.00 these days, even
though this might mean having to
wait a bit sometimes while stores
replenish their stock. Specifications
The great majority of laptops will
have the Windows 10 Operating
System. Although this OS is quite
different from previous versions,
it is not as tough to master as we
originally feared, and most people
learn to like it quite quickly.4
Gigabytes of RAM is adequate; 6 or
8 are a bit better. More is probably
overkill. 500 Gigabyte capacity
hard disk (file storage) is enough,
but a 1000 Gigabyte (1 Terabyte)
machine might not be more
expensive. An Intel processor has
a bit better reliability record than
AMD, the major competitor. We
would not refuse to buy a machine
with an AMD processor – it’s not
a big difference. The majority of
users should seriously consider
the Intel i5, or one of the AMD
equivalents, because it is powerful
enough that it will be adequate for
most users for many years to come.
A lesser processor might not stand
Some Ideas from the Canada
2017 Drop-Ins at the Library
By Gail Stewart
On Saturday mornings at
Sunnyside library branch you’ll
catch a small group of people
brainstorming ideas for Canada’s
150th. Members of the group
vary from week to week, as this
is a drop-in where anyone is
welcome. Neighbours, including
children, have popped in to give
their 2017 suggestions (there’s
always cookies, tea and coffee
available). Recently those present
put together a first list of 12 ideas
from 47 suggestions compiled
to date (don’t worry, you’ll get
to see some of the other ideas in
forthcoming OSCARs).
These ideas to celebrate
Canada’s 150th are:
1. Make Old Ottawa South
a Monarch Butterfly Way
Station
2. Road Hockey on Bank Street
3. Canada’s Monsters: A
website about Canada’s very
own mythical creatures, e.g.
Sasquatch, Wendigo
4. An Awesome History
of Canada in Lego: a
neighbourhood project
5. Silver Birch Hootenanny: A
sing-along of 150 years of
Canadian songs
6. A Hootenanny with a game of
Musical Chairs
7. Windsor Park Shelter in SW
corner (shade, shelter, solar
lighting)
8. Skills training for young
people to help in emergency
preparation and disaster relief
9. Village Square (like
Westboro’s outdoor space)
10. Paper Airplane Competition
11. Street Parties
12. Bike & Trike Parade
If you have an idea please
contact: lcamundsen37@gmail.
com
up well into the future for some
users, but more is probably overkill
and unnecessarily expensive for
most of us. Note that most laptops
no longer have a DVD drive. An
external USB drive is an inexpensive
alternative.15.6 inches (diagonally)
is the standard display for laptops.
You may choose larger or smaller
depending on preference and need,
but you might have to pay more.
(Smaller might not be cheaper.)
Windows 10 is meant to be optimized
with a touch screen and it’s fun to use
your fingers to manipulate things, but
many people find it awkward to set
aside their mouse and reach across
the keyboard to swipe the screen.
This is another feature that you really
should test for yourself, to decide
whether or not the extra $100 or so is
worth it.
Source and Warranty
Staples, Best Buy, Canada
Computers and Costco are the
commonest sources. Most people
prefer one or the other, but they are
pretty close. Dell might be the first
brand people think of if they are
buying online, but Costco (online
or in the store) is also a strong
contender, because they offer an
extended warranty at no extra cost.
Laptops, tablets, printers, cameras
and phones are just about the
only equipment for which we do
recommend considering the extended
warranty, for several reasons. Expect
usually to pay approximately 20%
of the laptop’s purchase price, for a
3-year warranty.
Setup
New computers nowadays take
about 3 hours of a technician’s time
to set up when they come out of the
box. They are not ready to use as
shipped. Most stores are anxious to
do that job for you but (maybe not
surprisingly) we small businesses
like Compu-Home or Tony Garcia at
Computer HouseCalls, are convinced
that we do a good job too.
You must also consider whether
or not data from your old computer
will have to be copied to the new
one. That can be done at the time of
setting up, or you can do that yourself
bit by bit later on if you prefer.
Advice
Feel free to call for our 2-cents’
worth when you find a machine that
interests you.
Go to compu-home.com/blog for an
archive of our columns (including
this one) and lots more tech-related
articles. There is a space right after
each item for you to make comments
and suggestions, and ask questions.
You can even sign up for automatic
updates. Have a look at compu-home.
com/blog soon or call us at 613731-5954 to share your opinions and
suggest subjects for future columns.
Our email address is info@compuhome.com
THE OSCAR
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MARCH 2016
ABBOTSFORD AT THE GLEBE CENTRE
A Groundhog in Nova Scotia has Predicted that Spring is Coming…
Abbotsford member playing Snooker.
PHOTO BY PATRICIA GOYECHE
By Pat Goyeche
We believe him and are planning to
be ready for it at Abbotsford. Look
for some new programming along
with some tried and true favourites
in our spring offerings. The Spring
Program guide will be in circulation
by mid-March so that everyone can
start new classes in April.
Come play a game of snooker,
pool, shuffleboard, air hockey or...
indoor curling
anyone? Mondays
are fun days at
Abbotsford. Keep fit
and keep connected.
It is never too late to
try something new.
We received
a special grant
through the Ontario
Seniors Secretariat
which made possible
the purchase of
new audio and
visual equipment
in our dining room.
Our Learn &
Explore ‘Speaker’s
Series’ as well as our Topical Talks
Series will benefit from this new
equipment, ensuring both great
visual and hearing experiences for
our audiences. This new equipment
makes it possible for us to broaden
our programming to include Monday
afternoon Matinees. Look for movie
listings, make suggestions and join
us. We might even have travelogue
viewings.
We also like to travel the world
whether through the Move to Music
from Around the World or how to
paint Ukrainian Easter Eggs sessions,
and you are welcome to come along.
You are sure to find an activity to suit
your worldly passions without need
for a passport or suitcase.
We continue to offer our popular
aerobics classes, strength training,
muscle toning and dance classes. It
will be our second term with Zumba
Gold, which is proving to be very
popular with our students. Instructor
Isabel Gonzalez will be leading
both Zumba and Conversational
Spanish class this spring...though not
simultaneously!
For those of you with specific
exercise needs we will continue to
offer Balance and Mobility, and
Balance and Strength. These classes
are offered for those able to walk at
least the distance of one city block
(100 metres or 325 feet); stand for at
least 20 minutes at a time; negotiate
3 or 4 stairs independently and stand
on one foot for at least 2 seconds. If
you can do this these classes can help
you to not only maintain but re-gain
your strength for activities of daily
living that are important to maintain
independence. Chair exercises on
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons
will continue this spring.
Look for specialized workshops
on shoulders and knees: learn how
the muscles in the shoulder and
neck work together; practice specific
stretches and strengthening exercises
to keep both shoulders and neck
healthy. You will also learn how to
strengthen legs without stressing your
knees and discover new functional
exercises to keep your knees healthy.
Look for Abbotsford’s spring guide
when thinking about fun at fitness
this spring.
Abbotsford is your community
support centre for Adults 55+. We
are the community programs of The
Glebe Centre Inc., a charitable,
not-for-profit, organization which
includes a 254 bed long term care
home. Find out more about our
services by dropping by 950 Bank
Street (the old stone house) Mon- Fri
9-4 pm, telephoning 613-230-5730
or by checking out all of The Glebe
Centre facilities and community
programs on our website www.
glebecentre.ca.
DESIGN DILEMMAS
Tidying is Transformational
By Vanessa Riddell
clothes are the easiest category, and
by doing it this way we hone our
skills of deciding what stays and
It’s that time of year again when we
what goes.
spend a lot more time in our homes.
Also, that the aim of this process
Forget about getting out and about if
is not so much deciding on what to
you don’t have to, it’s -20 outside!
get rid of, but instead focusing on
And I don’t know about you but the
what to keep. This step is achieved
more time I spend at home the more
by finding all the items in the house
I realize things need to be tidied up,
in that category, piling them on the
it’s all getting a little too cluttered.
floor, and touching each item. Only
In my quest for a low maintenance
those things which one loves and
home, a place where it is easy to put
spark joy when one touches them
everything away and keep things
should remain.
tidy, and because I was curious about
Marie Kondo also explains that
a book I had heard about, I decided to
before this first step can be achieved
pick up a New York Times best seller
one must ask oneself what one
written by a very successful cleaning
wants to achieve, and why, then to
consultant for some tips. “The Lifevisualize this goal in as much detail
Changing Magic of Tidying Up, The
as possible. Ultimately, she says, for
Japanese Art of Decluttering and
every single person she has worked
Organizing” is by Marie Kondo.
with, the answer to that question
Marie Kondo begins by talking
comes down to wanting to
be happy.
The next important
step is finding a place for
everything that remains.
Morning & Lunch Preschool Program
If step 1 is done correctly,
ages 2.5 to 4 years
then everything left should
fall into place quite easily.
Fancy storage containers
Afterschool Program
aren’t necessary and
children 4 to 9 years
simplicity should be the
goal.
…children learning through active investigation.
Marie Kondo also
explains that similar items
63 Evelyn Ave. (off Main St. near Pretoria Bridge)
should not be stored in
www.rainbowkidschool.ca
Tel: 613-235-2255
multiple places. It causes
us to lose track of how
about her childhood obsession with
tidying. It seems so right to get tips
from a person who analyzes cleaning
this much, and has had this much
varied experience in tidying! And
I know what you’re thinking, eyes
rolling, who cares? There are more
important things. But Marie Kondo
does have some really interesting tips
here. And I love the magical quality
she tries to convey, how tidying can
be life altering. She believes this
wholeheartedly and I think she makes
her case well.
Her entire philosophy hinges on
the first step, which is to throw out or
get rid of superfluous things and not
by room, but by items. Marie Kondo
suggests we start with clothes, then
books, papers, miscellany and then
mementos last. She says these steps
need to be strictly adhered to because
A bridge of opportunity
_______________________________________
many of that item we have and then
we often have too much. She also
says to forget about flow planning
and frequency of use. She says most
homes have been set up haphazardly,
and we store items in places and then
move about our homes according to
our storage. Instead we should figure
out our best flow, and then store
items in the right places to achieve
this.
In the “Storing Your Things To
Make Your Life Shine” section of
the book I was especially struck by
the unbelievable chapter about how
to store clothing properly. A magic
trick I would like to master! Not only
does this book talk about how using
the Kon-Mari method of tidying will
transform your life, and can be quite
magical, the book itself was perfect.
This hard cover book - with it’s
soft, Japanese inspired, watercolour
cover - is just the right size to slip
into a purse without being bulky or
obtrusive. Even holding it in my hand
was enjoyable.
I highly recommend this little
book. It is available at the Ottawa
Public Library.
And good luck with your Spring
Cleaning!
Vanessa Riddell is @ Staging & Creative Home Interiors. Contact: info@
sachi.ca for more information and
questions regarding your home.
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 29
CARLETON CORNER
NCR’s Top Employers
Carleton is proud to have been
chosen as one of the National Capital
Region’s top employers for 2016
by the editors of Canada’s Top 100
Employers. This is the second year
in a row that the university has been
honoured. Carleton earned the spot
for its focus on community, which
it demonstrates through initiatives
like Carleton Leader, Service
Excellence and Healthy Workplace.
These programs help staff develop
leadership skills, better serve the
needs of students and maintain
healthy lifestyles.
Canada’s Top 100 Employers
evaluates candidates on eight
categories – physical workplace;
work and social atmosphere; health,
financial and family benefits;
vacation and time off; employee
communications; performance
management; training and skills
development; and community
involvement.
Ottawa Resource Room
The MacOdrum Library celebrated
the grand opening last month of a
new city-focused resource centre
– the Ottawa Resource Room. The
centre is a hub of information about
Ottawa’s different regions, stocked
with maps, government information,
historical and architectural
documents, photos and other archival
material. The Ottawa Resource Room
is an initiative of Carleton’s Library
Archives and Research collection and
is designed to enhance existing local
resources for academic research and
teaching. Community members are
welcome to use it.
Funding for Research on Sexual
Assault
The Ontario government recently
awarded Carleton professors Dawn
Moore and Dale Spencer $278,000
in funding for research on sexual
assault as part of the province’s
action plan to end sexual violence
and harassment. Moore will examine
sexual violence on Ontario university
campuses while Spencer will work
with municipal police services across
the province to examine police
training, investigative practices and
responses to sexual assault. Their
work will help inform future policy
and survivor support programs.
Future of the PhD in the
Humanities Conference
Registration is now open for
the Future of the PhD in the
Humanities conference, which will
be held at Carleton from May 16
to 18. The event follows last year’s
groundbreaking conference at McGill
University, which brought together
members of 25 Canadian universities
to rethink graduate humanities
education, develop new programs
FINANCIAL PLANNING
Are You Prepared for Financial Disasters?
By Bob Jamieson, CFP
It’s not something anyone wants
to think about, much less discuss:
but the reality is that your financial
strategy needs to protect the assets
and lifestyle you’ve worked so hard
to create. Here are some events
that can have serious financial
consequences, along with suggestions
on preparing yourself:
Loss of Employment
If you were to lose your job,
your family might have to struggle
financially to make it until you’re
employed again. To protect against
this potential threat, try to build an
emergency fund containing three to
six months’ worth of living expenses.
That’s a lot of money, of course,
so it will be challenging to build
such a fund – but try to contribute
something each month to a liquid,
low-risk account. Without such an
emergency fund, you might be forced
to cash out your retirement savings to
pay for your living expenses during
your period of unemployment.
Loss of Health
If you become seriously ill or
injured, you might be out of work
for weeks or months. Your employer
may offer you some type of disability
insurance as an employee benefit,
but it might not be sufficient. So
you may also want to purchase an
individual income replacement plan
to cover as much of your after-tax
income as possible. Policies vary
widely in cost and benefits, so you’ll
want to shop around for the coverage
that best meets your needs. You may
also want to consider critical illness
insurance to help protect assets and
provide cash to offset lost income by
providing a lump sum payment in the
event of a major illness.
Loss of Life
Death may be an uncomfortable
topic to discuss. If you were to
pass away, it would be emotionally
devastating to your loved ones
– but it could also be financially
catastrophic. Would your family still
be able to pay the mortgage? Could
your surviving spouse afford to send
your kids to college or university?
Without life insurance, your death
could leave your family without the
ability to cover financial obligations.
The exact amount you require
depends on a variety of factors, such
as your family’s expenses, number
and age of children, savings needs
over time, and so on. Generally
speaking, you can choose between
two broad categories of insurance:
term and permanent. Term insurance,
as the name suggests, is designed
for a specific number of years and
provides a death benefit to meet large
needs, usually during your working
years. Permanent insurance is in
place for needs usually beyond 20
years. It provides coverage to meet
all your permanent insurance needs
such as funeral expenses, charitable
requests, and legacy planning.
A financial professional can help
guide you through your options to
determine the mix most appropriate
for your needs.
Loss of Property
If you own a home or car, you
already have insurance, but it doesn’t
hurt to check your policies annually
to make sure they’re appropriate to
meet your needs. If you’re undercovered, and had to pay out-ofpocket for some major damage, you
might be forced to dip into your longterm investments.
Building a “what-if” clause, or risk
analysis, into your financial strategy
can mean the difference between
successfully moving on from life’s
unexpected events or being over
whelmed by them. Give me a call at
613-526-3030 to start the discussion
on helping you protect the future
you are
and enhance how humanities
graduate degrees are viewed outside
the academy.
The Ottawa conference will extend
the 2015 conversation by asking how
ideas might be implemented and by
providing delegates with a concrete
basis for pursuing these initiatives in
their own universities. The event will
not only resume important debates,
but report on the steps that have been
taken in different institutions over
the past year. Registration, as well as
a conference program, is available
online at carleton.ca/phdhums.
Carleton Corner is written by
Carleton University’s Department
of University Communications. For
more information about upcoming
events, please go to carleton.ca/
events.
working hard to build.
Bob Jamieson, CFP, can be reached
at www.edwardjones.ca/bobjamieson.
www.edwardjones.com
Recovering from an
Illness Can Be Costly.
Help keep your assets healthy
with critical illness insurance.
With advances in medicine and medical technologies, your chances of surviving a heart attack,
a stroke, cancer or another serious illness have
increased – but recovery can mean significant and
unexpected costs.
Critical illness insurance may be the best way to help
manage through these financially challenging times.
Insurance and annuities are offered by Edward Jones Insurance Agency
(except in Québec). In Québec, insurance and annuities are offered by
Edward Jones Insurance Agency (Québec), Inc.
To learn whether critical illness insurance
makes sense for you, call or visit your
local Edward Jones advisor to schedule
a complimentary appointment.
Bob Jamieson, CFP®
Financial Advisor
.
2211 Riverside Drive
Suite 100
Ottawa, ON K1H 7X5
613-526-3030
INS-2011A-C
Member – Canadian
Investor Protection Fund
THE OSCAR
Page 30
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MARCH 2016
SUNNYSIDE LIBRARY PROGRAMS
Sunnyside Branch
Ottawa Public Library
1049 Bank Street, Ottawa
613-730-1082,
Adult Services, ext 22
Children’s Services,
ext 29
CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS
Babytime
For babies and their parents or
caregiver with stories, rhymes, songs
and games. 0-18 months. Drop In.
Tuesdays, 2:15 p.m. (30 min.)
March 29 – April 19
Toddlertime
For toddlers and a parent or caregiver
with stories, rhymes, songs and
games. Ages 18-35 months. Drop In.
Please choose only Tuesday or
Thursday for each session.
Tuesdays, 10:15 a.m. (30 min.)
March 29 – April 19
OR
Thursdays, 10:15 a.m. (30 min.)
March 31 – April 21
Family Storytime (Bilingual)
Stories, rhymes and songs for
preschoolers, toddlers and a parent or
caregiver.
No registration required.
Contes, rimes et chansons pour les
enfants préscolaires, les tout-petits et
un parent ou gardien.
Aucune inscription requise.
Wednesdays 10:15 a.m. / mercredi
10h15 (30 min.)
March 30 – April 20 / 30 mars – 20
avril
Silly Saturdays at Sunnyside / On
s’amuse les samedis à Sunnyside
Join us for board games, wii, Lego or
crafts. Ages 6 & up. No registration
required.
Joignez-vous à nous pour des jeux de
société, wii, Lego, ou du bricolage.
Âgés de 6 ans +. Aucune inscription
requise.
Saturdays, 1:00 pm (180 min.)
Les samedis, 13 h (180 min.) :
January 16 – June 25 / 16 Janvier –
25 jui
Block Party / Ça dé “bloc” (Family
program)
Building Boom: show off your
architectural creativity with Lego®.
Archiboum! Architectes en herbe, à
vos Lego®! Drop-in / Programme
portes ouvertes
Friday, April 15, 1 – 5 pm
CHILDREN’S BOOK CLUBS
Mighty Girls Book Club
A children’s book club focussed
on exploring brave, strong and
intelligent girls in books. Previously
called the Mother-Daughter Book
Club, mothers or other special
women are encouraged to accompany
their child. Ages 7-12. Registration.
Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. (60 min.):
March 29, April 26
Readers Wanted Book Club
Great books to share with others. Join
our book club for kids accompanied
by a significant adult. Ages 9-11. No
registration required.
March title: The Graveyard Book by
Neil Gaiman
April title: The City of Ember by
Jeanne DuPrau
Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. (60 min.):
March 30, April 27
Club de lecture en français pour les
enfants! / French Book Club for
Kids
Do you like reading in French? Join
our French book club for kids and
a significant adult. Ages 7 – 10.
Registration.
Aimez-vous lire en français? Venir à
notre club de lecture en français pour
les enfants et une adulte important.
Âgés 7 – 10. Inscription
Mondays, 6:30 p.m. (60 min.):
March 21, April 18
Les lundi, 18h30 (60 min.): 21 mars,
18 avril
SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR
CHILDREN DURING MARCH
BREAK
mathXplosion
mathXplosion is a new educational
children’s series of shorts that will
air on TVO Kids and TFO. Join host
Eric Leclerc as he reveals the secrets
of the not-so-hidden world of math.
Caregivers welcome. Ages 6 to 8.
Registration required.
mathXplosion est une nouvelle
série de courts métrages éducatifs
pour enfants qui sera diffusée sur
TVO Kids et TFO. L’animateur Éric
Leclerc nous révélera les secrets
du monde pas si mystérieux des
mathématiques. Pour les enfants de 6
à 8 ans. Accompagnateurs bienvenus.
Pour les 6 à 8 ans. Inscription.
Monday, March 14, 10:30 a.m. (60
min.) / Lundi le 14 mars, 10h30 (60
min.)
Exploring Strange New Worlds
with Canada Aviation and Space
Museum!
Long ago, flight was a dream and
the sky was a strange new world.
Today, humans are exploring our
solar system and beyond, discovering
more and more about the universe.
Canada Aviation and Space Museum
staff will lead you in a fun-filled
adventure, as you explore all kinds of
strange new worlds from the past to
the future. Dress up and act out the
Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus
as they explore the world of flight to
escape nasty King Minos! See how
famous inventors like Alexander
Graham Bell used their creativity and
cutriosity to build flying machines.
Find out about recent discoveries in
our solar system and beyond. Let
your imagination run wild and create
an alien friend to take home!
Ages 5-7. Registration required.
Monday, March 14, 1:00 p.m. (60
min.) / Lundi le 14 mars, 14h (60
min.)
Machines at Work/ Zone de
construction
Stories, rhymes, and songs for
children of all ages, and a parent or
caregiver. Family program.
Contes, comptines et chansons pour
les enfants de tous âges et un parent
ou gardien. Programme familial.
Tuesday, March 15, 10:15 a.m. (60
min.) / Mardi le 15 mars, 10h15 (60
min.)
Game On!/1,2,3... Au jeu!
Play card games, board games or Wii
games at the Library. Ages 6-12
Viens jouer aux cartes, à des jeux de
société ou à la Wii à la Bibliothèque.
Pour les 6 - 10 ans.
Tuesday, March 15, 1:00 p.m. (4
hours) / Mardi le 15 mars, 13h (4
heures)
Colour Your World / Un monde en
couleur
A rainbow of discoveries. Stories,
activities and crafts. Family program.
Un arc-en-ciel de découvertes.
Contes, activités et bricolage.
Programme familial.
Wed., March 16, 10:15 a.m. (60
min.) / Mercredi le 16 mars, 10h15
(60 min.)
A is for ART! with the Ottawa
Art Gallery/ A pour ART! avec la
Galerie d’art d’Ottawa
There’s a science to the art of
illusion. Learn the mathematics
of art and turn flat forms into
three dimensional shapes using
perspectival drawing techniques
invented by painters and architects
during the Italian Renaissance. Then
fast-forward your creation into the
present using digital animation
technology to get an image in
motion. Ages 7-12. Registration
required.
Il y a de la science dans l’art
de l’illusion. Apprenez les
mathématiques caché derrière
l’art et comment faire passer des
formes en 2 dimensions vers la 3e
dimension grâce aux techniques
du dessin en perspective inventés
par les peintres et les architectes au
cours de la Renaissance italienne.
Dans un second temps, revenez dans
le présent et utilisez la technologie
d’animation numérique pour obtenir
une image en mouvement. Pour les 7
à 12. Inscription.
Wednesday, March 16, 2:00 p.m.
(60 min.) / Mercredi le 16 mars,
14h (60 min.)
Can You Measure Up? / Êtes-vous à
la hauteur?
How many? How much? How far?
Stories, activities and crafts. Family
program.
Où? Quand? Combien? Comment?
Programme familial.
Thursday, March 17, 10:15 a.m.
(60 min.) / Jeudi le 17 mars, 10h15
(60 min.)
Wii Game On! /Détente Wii
Play Wii Games at the Library. Ages
6-12
Viens jouer à la Wii à la
Bibliothéque. Pour les 6 - 12 ans
Thursday, March 17, 1:00 p.m. (4
hours) / Jeudi le 17 mars, 13h (4
heures)
Lego® Block Party / Ça dé “bloc”
Create and build with Lego®! Ages
6-12. / Architectes en herbe, à vos
Lego®! Pour les 6 - 12 ans.
Friday, March 18, 1:00 p.m. (4
hours) / Vendredi le 18 mars, 13h
(4 heures)
TEEN PROGRAMS
TAG (Teen Advisory
Group) (Ongoing Event)
Attention Sunnyside Teens! Join our
new Teen Advisory Group and have a
say in which programs, activities and
services will be offered to youth and
also help plan and implement them.
Ages 14-18. To join, stop by the
branch or apply at Ottawa.ca
Fridays, 4:00 p.m. (60 min.): March
4, April 1
ADULT PROGRAMS
The Writing Workshop
An opportunity for writers of fiction,
non-fiction, poetry, and experimental
forms to gather. Our emphasis will
be on developing works-in-progress
for publication. The workshop will
provide writers with encouragement
and constructive criticism from their
peers. Author/Facilitator: Michael F.
Stewart: http://michaelfstewart.com
Registration.
Mondays, 6:00 p.m. (120 min.):
March 21, April 18
The Writer’s Room
Two hours – 1,000 words. A place
for writers to meet and write without
distraction in a supportive peer
environment.
Mondays, 10:00 a.m. (120 min.):
March 21, April 18
Ukrainian Conversation
Would you like to learn Ukrainian?
Join our group to discuss interesting
topics pertaining to Ukraine and
its culture. Build your Ukrainian
language skills led by a fluent
Ukrainian speaker. Discussion and
instruction is in English. All are
welcome!
Mondays, 7:00 pm (60 min.):
March 14 & 21, April 4 & 11
Conversations Among Canadians
In this program, now beginning
its fifth year, we will continue to
share our experience, knowledge,
reflections and ideas relevant to life
in Canada, past, present and future,
doing so with a sense of community
among Canadians and with others
in the world. Topics range widely
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 31
SUNNYSIDE LIBRARY PROGRAMS
and will likely continue to include
good government, climate change,
the economy, social justice, and
innovation, among others. We also
hope to help stimulate and make
helpful contributions to a nationwide
conversation among Canadians
throughout 2017, the anniversary of
Confederation.
Wednesdays, 2:00 - 4:00 pm (120
min.): January 6 – June 22
Workshops for 2017 Projects
As the 150th anniversary of
Confederation in 2017 draws near,
some Canadians are suggesting we
mark the occasion with projects large
and small, focussed on our past,
present or future. A workshop for
people to discuss, brainstorm or work
on their projects.
Saturdays, 10:00 am (120 min.):
January 9 – June 18 (no meeting on
March 26)
Science Cafés with Carleton
University
Explore science through Carleton
University’s popular Science Cafés.
Put on by the university’s Faculty of
Science, cafés are held every other
Wednesday during the fall and winter
terms. Each café begins at 6:30 p.m.
with a 20 minute talk by a scientist
followed by a 40 minute open
question and answer period. Come
and join us for a lively discussion
around a scientific issue of the day.
Be prepared to be informed, engaged
and even amused, as Carleton’s
professors share their scientific
discoveries with you. Drop in.
Wednesdays, 6:30 pm (60 min.):
March 9 & 23, April 6
Ingenious Talks (Faculty of
Engineering & Design, Carleton
University)
Ingenious Talks is a new speaker
series from Carleton University’s
Faculty of Engineering and Design
that engages the community in
discussions of timely and innovative
ideas in engineering, design and
technology. This series is open to the
public and everyone is encouraged
to come out and learn! Coffee and
snacks will be available. Drop in.
Wednesdays, 6:30 pm (60 min.):
April 14 (No meeting in March)
Knit & Knatter: Learn to Knit
Have you always wanted to learn to
knit or improve your skills? Now is
the time to come to Sunnyside and
bring your knitting needles and yarn
to begin knitting that first scarf for
winter, or share your project if you
are an experienced knitter. Enjoy
conversation and a cup of tea while
you knit! Drop-in.
Wednesdays, 1:00 pm (60 min.):
March 9 & 23, April 13 & 27
Conversation en français
Improve your spoken French and
meet new friends in a relaxed setting.
Intermediate level required. Drop in.
Thursdays, 6:30 pm (60 min.): Jan
14 – May 5
English Conversation Group
Practice English and meet new
friends in a relaxed and friendly
environment. This program is
focused on beginner level speakers.
Tuesdays, 5:00 pm (120 min.):
March 1 – May 3
ADULT SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Google Analytics: Uncovering your
Website’s Secrets
This session is offered by David Bird
of Bird’s Eye Consulting. It is an
introduction to the effective use of
Google Analytics in the marketing
and sales decisions for businesses.
Great for entrepreneurs, website
owners and bloggers.
Thursday, March 3, 6:30 pm (120
min.)
The Sound of Harp with Pat
Marhsall
Join us for a morning of music with
Pat Marshall who will speak about
her passion for the harp. Having
Irish roots, Pat will speak about the
history of the harp, especially the
Celtic connection. She will discuss
the different types of harps, the way
in which the harp has been used for
healing as well as her personal story
of learning, playing and being healed
by the harp. Pat will also entertain us
with some musical selections on her
Lever harp.
Saturday, March 12, 11 am (60
min.)
Preventing Back Pain
Back pain is one of the top 3 causes
of disability in our world. The
economic and social impacts of this
disorder are huge! Come join Dr
Brar for an interactive session on the
common causes of back pain and
the best solutions to overcome this
disabling condition.
Thursday, March 17, 6:30 pm (60
min.)
REPORTERS NEEDED
The OSCAR is seeking volunteer reporters.
Contact Editor, Brendan McCoy, OSCAR@oldottawasouth.ca
Home Staging and Redesign
In today’s competitive real estate
market, home staging is more
important than ever. Join Melanie
McNaughton to learn what is
involved in home staging, and what
the difference is between home
staging and redesigning. Melanie will
provide you with tips and tricks on
how to update and/or stage a home
on a budget.
Thursday, April 7, 6:30 pm (90
min.)
Changing his spots: Andre Derain’s
People, Landscapes, and Still Lifes
André Derain, (1880-1954) is today
best known for his “Fauve” period
when he painted alongside Henri
Matisse in the south of France.
Decorative, bold and free, his
modern style fearlessly emphasized
sensation through form and colour.
Derain’s early career as a painter,
sculptor, printmaker, and designer
was enormously successful, though
a cloud fell over him during the
Second World War. Death in an auto
accident in 1954 restored his artistic
reputation. The talk will illustrate
the work of this post-impressionist
master artist.
Wednesday, April 20, 2:00 pm (60
min.)
Opening a Food Business in Ottawa
This session will discuss business
licence categories, home-based
business regulations and most
significantly interdepartmental permit
and legislation requirements for all
types of food premises. If you are
thinking about opening a bakery,
café, restaurant, wholesale, catering
business, or think your business idea
might have some overlap with these
types of businesses, this is the session
for you. Offered in partnership
with Joanne Cléroux, Business
Information Officer, City of Ottawa. Thursday, April 21, 6:30 pm (90
min.)
Is Sitting a Health Risk?
We are bombarded with statements
such as “Sitting is the new smoking”,
but how true are they really? Join
the discussion by Dr. Chandan Brar
about the health risks related to long
hours of sitting. During the session,
Dr. Brar will also provide everyday
practical solutions to minimize the
negative impact of sitting.
Thursday, April 28, 6:30 pm (60
min.)
ADULT BOOK CLUBS
European Book Club
Join us for the ultimate armchair
travel around Europe. The European
Book Club is offered in partnership
with European Union National
Institutes for Culture (EUNIC)
in Ottawa to promote European
authors and their works. A book title
from an EU country is selected for
discussion each month. Newcomers
are welcome.
March title: The Shadow of the Wind
by by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Spain)
April title: TBA
Wednesdays, 6:00 pm (120 min.):
March 16, April 20
Second Friday Adult Book Club
Meet new people and join in
stimulating discussions on selected
titles in a friendly and relaxed
atmosphere every second Friday of
the month. Newcomers are welcome.
March title: We are not Ourselves by
Matthew Thomas
April Title: A Spool of Blue Thread
by Anne Tyler
Fridays, 2:00 pm (60 min.): March
11, April 8
Mystery Book Club
Do you enjoy reading mysteries?
Share the enjoyment of good
mysteries in a relaxed atmosphere.
Join us for discussion usually every
third Friday of the month.
March title: A Siege of Bitterns by
Steve Burrows
April title: Wife of the Gods by Kwei
J. Quartey
Fridays, 2:00 pm (60 min.): March
18, April 15
Sunnyside Adult Book Club
Join in stimulating discussions
on selected titles in a friendly and
relaxed atmosphere on the last Friday
of the month. Registration.
April 1 title: The Goldfinch by Donna
Tartt
April 29 title: The Buried Giant by
Kazuo Ishiguro
Fridays, 2:00 pm (60 min.): (No
meeting in March), April 1, April 29
THE OSCAR
Page 32
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oldottawasouth.ca. The editor retains
the right to edit or exclude submissions.
The OSCAR takes no responsibility for
items, services or accuracy.
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Local Service
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AROUND TOWN
Cantonese or Mandarin language
lessons for students from JK to grade
8. Saturday 9:30 to noon. Classes
ongoing until June 18 2016 at 391
Booth Street, (St Anthony School)
Website: www.chinghua.ca e-mail:
info@chinghua.ca
Celebrating International
Women’s Day, Tuesday March
8th, 5:30-9:00 pm featuring Linda
Grussani of the INAC Aborginal Art
Centre, Ottawa Fashion Designer
Laura Leonard and Master Storyteller
Louis Profeit-LeBlanc. Reception
with Contemporary Algonquin
Cuisine by Wawatay. Centrepointe
Atrium and Council Chamber, 101
Centrepointe Dr. Tickets $30. All
proceeds to support scholarships.
Register online: www.cfuw-ottawa.
org 613-592-0124. Hosted by
CFUW-Ottawa, Nepean, Kanata and
the Ottawa Council of Women.
Lady Evelyn Alternative School is
seeking donations for its upcoming
used book sale. Your used books
(no encyclopedias, textbooks or
magazines) and vinyl can be dropped
off in the Lady Evelyn lobby starting
on Tuesday March 29. The book
sale will take place on Friday April
22 and Saturday April 23 at Lady
Evelyn. Everyone is invited to come
and peruse the books and records
from 3-7pm on the 22nd and from
9-3pm on the 23rd. Lady Evelyn
Alternative School is located at 63
Evelyn Avenue in Old Ottawa East.
Ottawa-Carleton District School
Board Speaker Series Event: “How
to Parent when the Brain Rules”
with John Antonetti. Thursday,
March 3rd - 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
at Longfields-Davidson Heights
Secondary School (Auditorium)149
Berrigan Drive. John Antonetti
takes us on a journey through the
latest brain research in a humorous,
interactive workshop that integrates
strategy, thinking, and engagement
- truly a three-dimensional approach
to look at what makes each of our
children unique.
Ontario Welsh Festival, Ottawa,
April 22-24. A weekend celebrating
Welsh culture and music, featuring a
Gala Concert April 23 By The Three
Welsh Tenors and Côrdydd choir
from Wales 7:30 pm, Dominion
Chalmers United Church, 355
Cooper. Tickets $25 in advance,
$30 at the door available at Book
Bazaar, Granata Music, Leading
Note or phone Myfanwy Davies
613-526-3019 or contact publicity@
ontariowelshfestival.ca . Two
hymn singing sessions at 10:30 am
and 1:30 pm, April 24, Dominion
Chalmers, free will offering.
Discover the exotic world of
orchids! Be sure to take in the
Ottawa Orchid Society’s 35th
Annual Show at the RA Centre, 2451
Riverside Drive on Saturday, April
16 and Sunday, April 17. Hours are
noon to 5 pm on Saturday and 9 am
to 5 pm on Sunday. Photographers
note: You are welcome to bring your
equipment and tripods on Sunday
from 9 to 11 am. Admission is $12,
$10 for seniors, cash at the door.
Parking is free. More information
and a $2.00 off admission coupon are
available at ottawaorchidsociety.com
or on Facebook at Ottawa Orchid
Society.
Ottawa Brahms Choir present
s its Spring concert, ‘Celebration!’ on
Sunday, April 24th at 3 pm. This is
to mark the Choir’s 35th Anniversary
at St. Thomas the Apostle Anglican
Church at 2345 Alta Vista Drive.
Come celebrate with us! The
choir under conductor Christopher
Askwith, with accompanist Svetlana
Logigan and more musicians will
highlight works from Brahms, Bach,
Handel, Mozart, Pärt, Strauss, and
many more. Tickets available at
the St. Thomas church office, The
Leading Note (370 Elgin), Compact
Music (206 & 785-A Bank), and
choir members. For more info
consult www.OttawaBrahmsChoir.
ca and Tel. (Leo) 613-749-2391 or
(Sieglinde) 819-568-8169.
Probus is a non-profit, nonsectarian and non-political
organization comprising retired
or semi-retired professional and
business persons. The Alta Vista
Probus Club meets on the fourth
Wednesday of each month at
Gloucester Presbyterian Church,
91 Pike Street in the Conroy &
Hunt Club area. Next sessions will
be on March 23 and April 27. The
gatherings open at 9:30 am for
coffee and socializing, followed by a
speaker then a questions and answers
session. Guests are always welcome
at the monthly meeting, annual
membership fees are $25.00 for
singles and $40.00 for couples. For
more information, call Colin Galigan
at 613-730-7649.
Would you like to Run or Walk for
Refugees? Thousands of refugees
and immigrants will be making
Ottawa their new home this year.
You can help them by registering for
the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend
(May 28-29) and joining our
volunteer team of OCISO fundraisers
(the Ottawa Community Immigrant
Services Organization). As a thank
you, our first 100 runner or walker
volunteers who commit to raising
over $100 will receive a professional
racing shirt. For more information,
please contact OCISO’s volunteer
coordinator, David Rain at drain@
ociso.org, or visit ociso.org.
Tenors!!! Greatly welcomed by
Ottawa Brahms Choir to mark 35th
Anniversary concert on April 24th.
Rehearsals every Monday 7-9:30 pm
at Southminster United Church at
Bank/Aylmer. For further info www.
OttawaBrahmsChoir.ca Tel 613-7492391; 819-568-8169.
World Day of Prayer. Everyone
is invited to join a worldwide
movement where all Christian
denominations come together to
pray and learn about the Christian
experience in other countries. In
2016 the focus is on Cuba and the
service has been written by the
women of Cuba. The churches of
Old Ottawa South and the Glebe
invite you to join us at St. Giles
Presbyterian Church, 729 Bank St.
at First Ave. on Saturday March 5th
at 11:00 am. Coffee will be served
from 10:45 am.as you arrive. This
ecumenical service is led by women
from our local churches and will take
about an hour with an opportunity to
talk together afterwards.
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 33
FAITH COMMUNITY
“I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet
shall he live, and everyone who lives and
believes in me shall never die. Do you believe
this?” (John 11:25-26)
Sunnyside Wesleyan Church
Good Friday Service, March 25th at 10 am
Easter Sunday, March 27th, at 9 am and 11 am
EASTER SERVICES
ST. MARGARET MARY
CATHOLIC CHURCH
7 FAIRBAIRN STREET
(FAIRBAIRN & SUNNYSIDE)
Thursday, March 24th, 8:00 p.m.
Mass of the Last Supper
Friday, March 25th, 3:00 p.m.
Good Friday Service
Saturday, March 26th, 9:00 p.m.
EASTER VIGIL
Sunday, March 27th, 10:30 a.m.
Easter Morning Mass
Area Worship Services
Location
Times
Sunnyside Wesleyan
Church
58 Grosvenor Avenue
(at Sunnyside)
Sunday Worship
Services at 9:00 am and
11:00 am, Children’s
program offered during
worship services.
Mass Sunday at 9:30 and
11:30 am.
St Margaret Mary
Catholic Church
7 Fairbairn (corner of
Sunnyside)
Trinity Anglican Church
1230 Bank St
(at Cameron Ave)
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 am
and 10:00 am with Church
School & Choir.
Southminster United
Church
15 Aylmer Avenue
(at Bank & the Canal)
Sunday Worship & Kids
Church at 10:30 am.
THE OSCAR
Page 34
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Storyscapes at Good Morning
Creative Arts and Preschool:
The Weather Outside is Frightful,
So Let’s Play with Ice Inside!
PHOTOS BY SANDY BULCHAK
By Sarah Brickell
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
l
This time of year is a favourite for
our teachers because it offers the
opportunity to bring an experience to
the children that they may never have
had before – working with ice and
snow to make art!
With the weather being so cold
(finally!) the theme chosen by our
teachers for StoryScapes was Sadie
and the Snowman by Allen Morgan,
with illustrations by Brenda Clark.
Sandy Bulchak, educator and artist
extraordinaire, read the book with
the children, who thought it was
delightful to follow along with Sadie
as she suffered the joy and frustration
of building her snowman.
After reading the story, the class
used salt and food colouring on snow
from our front yard, and ice blocks
they had frozen ahead of time. There
was a lot of excitement from the
children when the ice came inside!
All of the children watched closely as
the colour tunneled into the ice along
the divots where the salt melted their
ice blocks.
Part of the experience was listening
to the ice crackle as it melted – not
often are a group of 3 to 5 year olds
quiet enough to hear ice melt!
The children added some more
glitter and colour to the ice, then put
them back outside to freeze. Once
frozen, they were hung up from
our Good Morning tree outside our
school.
StoryScapes is one of the most
unique programs at Good Morning
Creative Arts and Preschool. A
literacy-based art program that
combines storytelling, drama, fine art
and art exploration with play, laughter
and lots of enthusiasm, it is truly
unique in Ottawa.
For children ages 3 to 5, it offers
the opportunity to children to explore
books they might know well or not
know at all. For children who are
homeschooled, opting out of fullday kindergarten one or more days a
week, and those 3 year olds who have
stopped napping and want to get up
and go in the afternoon, this program
is truly special.
Sarah Brickell is volunteer President
of Good Morning and looks forward
to the amazing art that comes home
every week from her children.
THE OSCAR
l
MARCH 2016
Page 35
NOTES FROM THE
GARDEN CLUB
The Raised-Bed Garden
By Colin Ashford
The Old Ottawa South Garden
Club welcomed the return of an old
friend, Mary Reid, of Green Thumb
Garden Centre (www.greenthumbgarden.ca) to talk about raised-bed
gardening. Mary is a Certified Landscape Professional and, in addition
to running her garden centre, she
volunteers at Master Gardeners and
teaches at local schools and garden
clubs like ours.
Mary started her presentation with
views of some of existing raised-bed
gardens, namely those at Brewer
Park, at Centretown United Church,
and at Lansdowne Park. Mary noted
that the defining attribute of a raised
bed is that the soil surface of the bed
is above ground level; bearing this
in mind, a raised-bed garden could
be simply a mound of earth or, more
likely, a wooden or masonry structure. Size is important: a structure
of at least 3’ by 3’ by 3’ is necessary
for perennials to survive the Ottawa
winter. However, too large a width
or breadth could make working
in the raised bed difficult; Mary
recommended a width and breadth
of no more than 4’ with access from
all sides. Mary offered a number
of reasons for considering raised
beds, namely: lack of space (or lack
of appropriate space); improved
accessibility; poor soil (too much
clay, too much sand, too acidic, too
rocky), prevalence of soil-borne
diseases, and excessive roots in the
area. Mary noted that the benefits
of raised beds included: earlier
warm up in the spring that extends
the growing season; less stooping;
less compaction of the soil (no one
is walking on the beds); and better pest exclusion. (In that context,
Mary mentioned the Seed Haven—
a local invention that claims to
block crawling pests like slugs and
earwigs—see www.seedhaven.ca for
more details.)
For construction materials, Mary
mentioned: plastic, stone or brick,
wood, metal, even straw—or just a
mound of earth. Earth mounds need
a good deal of tending as the soil
tends to migrate; stone or brick are
more permanent but dry out quickly.
Raised beds with wooden frames
benefit from covering the sides (but
not the bottom) with landscape
cloth to stop soil migration. One of
the most intriguing materials Mary
mentioned was straw bales. Bales of
straw are placed on the ground and
fertilizer sprinkled over them to start
the composting process; after some
time, a thin layer of potting soil is
spread on each bale and the seeds
sown. The bales tend to dry out very
quickly and constant attention to
watering either by hand or by soaker
hoses is required. For more information, Mary recommended Joel
Karsten’s book Straw Bale Gardens.
(ISBN 978-1-60961-959-6).
Raised beds and square-foot gardening (the practice of dividing the
growing area into small square sections) are intimately connected leading to the claim of “... 100% of the
harvest, 20% of the space, and 2%
of the work …”. For more information on square-foot gardening, Mary
recommended Mel Bartholomew’s
book Squarefoot Gardening. (ISBN
978-1-57954-0856-8).
Mary finished her presentation
with a few remarks on placement in
a raised bed (“thrillers, fillers, and
spillers”), maintenance, and plant
selection (edible, ornamental or
combinations).
The next meeting of the Old Ottawa
South Garden Club, entitled “Hydrangeas in the Garden”, will be on
Monday 14 March 2016 at 7.00 p.m.
at the Old Ottawa South Community
Centre (The Firehall), 260 Sunnyside Avenue when Peter Knippel of
Knippel Garden Centre will discuss
the when, where, and how of planting hydrangeas—and how to keep
them happy, healthy, and beautiful.
(Top left) An impressive concrete paver-built raised-bed garden. (Top Right)
Multiple wooden sided raised-bed gardens. (Above) A simple raised-bed
PHOTOS BY STEVE REID
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THE OSCAR
Page 36
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T 613.234.5571
www.revelstokedesignandbuild.com
service@revelstokedesignandbuild.com
736 Cooper Street
54 Brighton Avenue
0
0
350 Riverdale Avenue
$
$
$
59
77
9,
4,
90
90
0
90
9,
09
1,
F 613.236.6661
Rideau Gardens
Old Ottawa South
85 Fulton Avenue
26 Riverdale Avenue
112 Belmont Avenue
90
4,
09
1,
$
$
$
50
49
4,
9,
90
90
0
0
0
Centre Town
Old Ottawa South
Old Ottawa East
Buy and Sell with the Team at
Arnett Realty and you won’t be
disappointed.
Rideau Gardens
TRACY ARNETT REALTY LTD., BROKERAGE
159 Gilmour Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0N8 ~ www.tracyarnett.com ~ 613-233-4488
This is not intended to solicit properties already listed for sale