Jan - OSCA
Transcription
Jan - OSCA
www.BankDentistry.com 613.241.1010 THE OSCAR The Ottawa South Community Association Review l The Community Voice YEAR 42, No.1 New Patients Welcome Emergency patients seen promptly! Implant and Prosthetic, Family and Cosmetic, Children’s and Preventive Dentistry Dr. Nasrin Saba DDS Phone: 613.241.1010 1189 Bank Street, Ottawa, ON, KIS 3X7 Fax: 613.241.0808 Onsite Parking info@bankdentistry.com JANUARY 2014 Hopewell PS Me to We BLIZZARD! Story and photos on pg 18 Monthly membership $40 4 Month membership $130 PHOTO BY ANNIE WALKER e Join th FIRE HALL FITNESS CENTRE Drop in for only $8 FREE CONSULTATION with one of our personal trainers. *registration in any OSCA program entitles you to a 25% discount at the Firehall Fitness Centre. Please tell us how your experience with our programs has been, what are your ideas for programs, workshops, lecture series that we can offer the community. Online throughout January - OSCA’s Firehall Program Evaluation TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! www.oldottawasouth.ca The Changing Geography of ODR Ice By Don Cummer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) knew a thing or two about flooding an outdoor rink (ODR). As far as I know, he wrote the first song ever composed to describe the transformation of packed snow into a smooth skating surface. The song was composed centuries ago, but the process of water freezing on a surface has not changed. The lyrics (lifted from the Book of Isaiah) still apply: Ev’ry valley shall be exalted, And ev’ry mountain and hill made low, The crooked straight, And the rough places plain. What the song describes, of course, is how, at the beginning of the creation of an ODR, the surface is very rough indeed – a rugged geography of highpoints and lowpoints, mountains and valleys. In the early stages, after the first thin coating has frozen the packed snow, with all the ice chunks, bootprints, and the scars of the hose itself, the surface looks like a satellite map of a vast Himalaya of mountains and valleys, crooked lines and rough places. But watch what happens on each subsequent flooding. The valleys rise. The rough places plain. After a couple of coats, the surface is no longer the Himalayas. It’s more a satellite image of northern Ontario with its myriad of lakes. A few more coats, and you have an archipelago in a flat ocean – a Philippines of ice – and with another flooding, the Seychelles. This year, the “boys of Old Ottawa South team” (bOOSt) managed this transformation in less than 24 hours. The Himalayas were flooded at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, December 11th. By the time the kids were off to school Thursday morning, the mist rose on a surface fit for skating. The call went out for the next phase of the rink-building process: get out there on the ice and try it out. Grind those last remaining mountain tops with skates, sticks and pucks. Thursday night is bOOSt night on the Windsor Park rink. After the game, the boys headed back to their usual watering hole while Chris Rupar stayed behind to give the rink another Continued on pg 15 A Celebration of Life commemorating Sunnyside branch’s Librarian, Hélène Merritt. Friday, January 10th at Southminster United Church. Set up at 6 p.m. Program starts at 6:30 p.m. (see page 7 for more information) Page 2 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 THE OSCAR l Page 3 JANUARY 2014 THE OSCAR 260 Sunnyside Ave, Ottawa Ontario, K1S 0R7 www.OldOttawaSouth.ca/oscar oscar@oldottawasouth.ca Editor: Brendan McCoy oscar@oldottawasouth.ca Layout and Design Editor: Bess Fraser Copy Editor: Michael Thibault Distribution Manager: Larry Ostler larryostler@gmail.com Business Manager: Susanne Ledbetter ledbetter@sympatico.ca Advertising Manager: Gayle Weitzman oscarads@oldottawasouth.ca OSCAR is printed by Winchester Print 613-327-9080 613-730-1058 (not classy ads) 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 and selected locations in Old Ottawa South, the Glebe and Billings Bridge. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily of The OSCAR or OSCA. CONTRIBUTIONS Contributions should be in electronic format sent by e-mail to oscar@ oldottawasouth.ca in either plain text or WORD format. 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. Some articles may be posted on the OSCA Website. The OSCAR is available online at www.oldottawasouth.ca. FOR DISTRIBUTION INQUIRIES, call: 613-327-9080 or email: 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 Roston, Patrick Hinton, Lydia Oak, Sandra Garland, John Callan, Diana Carr. ZONE C1: Laura Johnson (Coordinator), the Williams family, Josh Rahaman, Jesper Lindeberg, the Dallin-O’Grady family, Declan and Darcy McCoy, Bruce Grant, and the Woroniuk-Ryan family. ZONE C2: Craig Piche (Coordinator), Alan McCullough, Charles and Phillip Kijek, Kit Jenkin, Michel and Christina Bridgeman, Anne Coyle, 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), the Adriaanse family, Gaia 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, Ryan Zurakowski, Susan McMaster, Paige Raymond, Judy and Pierre Chamberland, Valerie Dancause, Mary Johnston. ZONE G: Bernie Zeisig(Coordinator), Claudia and Estelle BourlonAlbarracin, David Lum, Cindy MacLoghlin, Hannah and Emily Blackwell, Robin and Luke Eriksson. Echo Drive: Alex Bissel. Bank Street-Ottawa South: Joan-Foster Jones, Tom Lawson, Paula Archer. Bank Street-Glebe: Larry Ostler. NEXT DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JANUARY 17 The OSCAR is published eleven times per year. Upcoming deadlines: January 17 (February issue); February 14 (March issue); March 14 (April issue); April 11 (May issue); May 16 (June issue); June 13 (July/August issue); August 8 (September issue). To book an OSCAR ad call Gayle 730-1058 oscarads@oldottawasouth.ca The Old Firehall Ottawa South Community Centre 260 Sunnyside Ave, Ottawa Ontario, K1S 0R7 osca@oldottawasouth.ca PHONE 613-247-4946 MONDAY TO FRIDAY 6:30 AM TO 9 PM SATURDAY 8:15 AM TO 5 PM SUNDAY 9:00 AM TO 5 PM WHAT’S THAT NUMBER? Ottawa South Community Centre - The Old Firehall Ottawa South Community Association (OSCA) Ottawa Public Library - Sunnyside Branch Rob Campbell (rob.campbell@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 247-4946 247-4872 730-1082 730-8128 526-9512 233-5430 520-6688 520-6616 520-3660 520-5765 520-4480 580-2487 3-1-1 236-1222 9-1-1 230-6211 738-6400 3-1-1 247-4938 247-4917 CORRECTION The article on page 26 of the December OSCAR said that the number of parking spots at the old Lansdowne Park was 6000. It was actually 2200. The OSCAR regrets this error. WHAT’S INSIDE OSCA LETTERS PLANNING AND TRAFFIC POLITICAL TRAVEL FILM REVIEWS 4-5 6 8-10 12-15 20-21 24 LIBRARY CLASSY ADS 32-33 34 Page 4 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 CHRISTY’S CORNER Winter Round-Up Fun at Breakfast with Santa. By Christy Savage Special Events Admittedly, there are the odd occasions when I sit down to write my OSCAR article and find myself drawing a blank. This was one of them, so I decided to have a look at what I wrote last year and it was a fitting subject- Special Events. So, following along with that theme, I think I’ll talk a little bit about what we have been doing over the past few months here at OSCA, and what we have planned for the months ahead. In November, we launched the PHOTOS BY DARCY MIDDAUGH Holiday season with OSCA’s “Shop Your Local Talent Craft Fair”. This was my second experience with this event, and it was wonderful to see the Firehall come to life once again, with the extensive and varied number of vendors and their wares. That, coupled with the steady flow of the crowd coming to taste the delectable treats and shop, really kick-started the Holidays. Thank you to Brenda Lee, who organizes this event and continues to make it successful for our community and local artists. Thanks also to Julia Morency, who is always front and centre, working closely with Brenda to assist and ensure everything runs smoothly. Christmas got underway with the movie “White Christmas” at the Mayfair. This was my first experience with this event, and while I wasn’t quite sure what Brenda meant when she said we could sing along, it became pretty evident when people all around me were quietly singing these classics to themselves. Somehow, I expected the words to come up on the screen and a little white dot to bounce from word to word in front of me and guide me in my singing. That didn’t happen, and may explain the quietly festive and homey feeling that little pockets of singers in the audience created. It was lovely and felt like I was at home with my parents or grandparents singing along and remembering Christmases past. In the 80’s when I was growing up and living in England, with such a minimal number of TV channels to choose from, I somehow managed to watch a lot of black and white movies from the 40’s and colour musicals from the 50’s. Danny Kaye is a favourite, and I was shocked to find myself singing along to most of the songs and knowing the choruses at the very least. The Mayfair was filled with young children, teens, twenty and thirty somethings, those of us in middle age and those who are golden. And it was truly amazing to experience it. Thank you again to Brenda Lee and Julia Morency for all your hard work. Thank you also to Life of Pie, Quinn’s and Stella Luna, for offering discounted/free items to those who attended the movie. On December 15th, OSCA hosted our second annual “Breakfast with Santa”. This was a simple event with no advertising, outside promotion or sales of items, and no entrance fee asked. It is our way to open our doors and invite the community to gather together, enjoy a pancake breakfast and a short visit from Santa. It’s also a way for us to support our local Ottawa Food Bank. This year, we also asked for donations for our neighbours ‘Empathy House’. Thank you to all who came and donated items. Thank you also to Colleen Forer of Yummy Cookies, for the festive cookies that the first 200 children were able to decorate. And thank you to all those who volunteered to make this a success: Regis Alcorn, Jeannine and her son Derek Beauregard, Roz and her daughter Lara Bialowas, Daphne Dumbrille, Baalqis Hassan, Linda Hancock, Darcy Middaugh and Marty Pemberton. Special thanks go to Jeff Jenkins for going above and beyond and being a good sport about being jolly. Stay tuned for future events: In March, OSCA will hold a ‘Volunteer Banquet’ to honour those of you who tirelessly contribute your time and energy to OSCA throughout the year. In the Spring, we’ll be hosting our annual spring party; last year was ‘Back to the 80’s’ and this year is already being planned. We can’t wait to tell you the theme, but you’ll have to stay tuned. We’ll be putting our heads together to plan a few other events and will keep you posted! Empathy House As you may be aware, Empathy House, located in Old Ottawa South, published an article in the December OSCAR inviting those of you who wanted to give locally, to drop off donations. OSCA wanted to assist, and we were able to set up a donation box at the Firehall for those of you who found it easier to drop off items. Thank you to all, we were so overwhelmed with donations that we had to empty the donation box and drop off items to Empathy House every 4-5 days. Windsor Rink The rink at Windsor is up and running. Many of you may not know that this is operated as a joint venture between the City and OSCA. However, the real work happens at the rink every day and night when our rink attendants and volunteers clean it and flood it. This is not an easy task and without the more than 20 volunteers and the few staff we are able to hire with a grant from the City, the rink would not be able to operate. Please feel free to use the rink and enjoy what makes Canada special, skating, hockey and the great outdoors. The rink is open to the public on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 12:00pm-6:00pm, and during the week from 6:00pm-9:00pm. We ask that you respect the rink and the space, and that if there is a large group of you playing shinny hockey, for example, it would be greatly appreciated if you could assist the rink attendants to clear the ice afterwards. That’s a tough job for one person to do after a large group has used the ice and can make for a late evening and late flooding for the volunteers who flood no matter what the weather (as long as it’s cold!). A warm thank you goes out to all the volunteers, who live in the community and offer their time in the spirit of keeping this wonderful service available to all. Thank you also to our staff who monitor the rink during its hours of operation. Finally, a big thank you goes out to Reg Charette for coordinating the rink this Continued on pg 5 THE OSCAR l Page 5 JANUARY 2014 OSCA PRESIDENT’S REPORT OSCA’s Priority Areas By Linda Hancock Happy New Year to all - may 2014 be a fantastic year for all in Old Ottawa South! In late November, the Board, along with our senior staff and volunteers, met to discuss OSCA’s future. We had a productive meeting and you will soon see the results in the form of our Strategic Plan. In this column, I will share the Priority Areas that were confirmed at our session. As I have mentioned in previous columns, we are thrilled to be starting the year with an almost full Board of Directors who are ready to work hard in these areas. We still need to build some of our Committees so that we can be as effective and efficient as possible. If you have expertise to share or an interest in working in any of the following areas at the committee level, please let us know. Communication – in our Vision Survey we were told that what OSCA should focus on is a comprehensive communications strategy that builds on the success of the OSCAR and our Website and explores social media strategies. This has been discussed by the Board at length. We have made the decision to establish a core com- Continued from pg 4 year and bOOSt for filling up many nights in our volunteer schedule. Old Ottawa South Cookbook- From our Table to Yours Well, the day finally arrived. The cookbook gals, as I refer to them, began collecting recipes from the community in the summer of 2012. The cookbook, in all its glory, finally arrived just before the holidays. But even though it arrived before the holidays doesn’t mean it isn’t a great gift (for others or yourself) at any time of the year. This keepsake contains recipes from families old and new in OOS, from former residents who reminisced about meals they shared with neighbours and friends, and of course from our local businesses. There’s something in the book for everyone, and it’s wonderfully reminiscent of the good old days when local cookbooks were the norm, as was the feeling of community; front porches; children playing together; neighbours supporting one another; knowing people on the main street; and… well now, doesn’t that sound like Old Ottawa South. And, what makes this cook- mittee that takes this function on in a proactive and ongoing basis. Partnership with the City of Ottawa – in previous columns I have informed you of the challenges that OSCA faces with respect to our partnership with the City of Ottawa. Our discussions in this area will continue on into the New Year. We are confident that we will be able to negotiate an agreement that reflects a true partnership moving forward. Planning and Zoning – this has long been an area of concern for those living in desirable neighbourhoods and Old Ottawa South is no exception. We have made the decision to set up a new committee that focuses solely on planning & zoning issues. In the past, this area was part of the mandate of the OSWatch Committee. Recently, a great deal of work has fallen on a small group of people and we are hoping that others will come forward to assist in this important area. Community Resource Plan – we are lucky to live in such a wonderful and diverse community. The Board has recognized that if we were to leverage available community resources, achieving our goals will be book really special is that OSCA has funded all costs for production, leaving all proceeds from sales to go to Southminster’s ‘Out of the Cold’ Saturday supper program and St Margaret Mary’s Sunday supper program. Some local businesses are selling the cookbooks, and of course, you can always purchase one at the Firehall for $25 each. Thank you to the Cookbook organizers for their hard work and a job well done. OSCA Program Evaluation- please participate OSCA wants to hear from you!!! For those of you who participate in activities at the Firehall, we would like to hear your thoughts and opinions. We’d love to hear how you enjoyed your programs, what room we have to improve, and moreover, we’d love to hear your ideas for future programs, workshops, lecture series etc. Please go to oldottawasouth.ca and follow the links for our online evaluation. We will keep the link open for the entire month of January. If you haven’t participated in programs at the Firehall, there’s a section of the survey for you also. We’d love to hear what you would love to see offered at the Firehall. OSCA is Now Hiring Summer Camp Coordinators. Only candidates with at least one year senior counsellor or coordinating roles will be considered. Please email your CV and a cover letter to osca@oldottawasouth.ca no later than Friday, January 10th. so much more attainable. Our plan is to build a community resource plan to assist us in all of our priority areas. Program – our programs are well known and well used by our community. We will continue to work to review and expand our offerings to meet the needs and interests of our residents. If you have registered for programs, you may have experienced problems with our e-registration system. A top priority of the Program Committee will be dealing with the inherent issues in that system. Governance – this is an area that requires some attention. Now that we have a clear sense of our priority areas, we need to review how we operate – the old adage “form follows function” comes to mind. We have established a Governance Task Group to review all of this. As is the case with other charities and not for profit organizations, we must redo our Constitution and Bylaws to be consistent with a new format that will soon be announced provincially (and has already taken effect nationally). Traffic and Parking – last but not least, we must continue the great work that has been done in the area of traffic and parking. With Lansd- owne officially opening in 2014, we are still quite concerned about the issues that will come re: traffic and parking. We have worked in partnership with our neighbouring community associations so that we can have a stronger voice. We will also continue to work on the priorities that were set as a result of our very successful Traffic Survey that was completed last year. In order to get to work on all of these areas, we have now established 5 Core Committees – Communication, Planning & Zoning, Special Events, Program, Traffic & Parking. The remaining priority areas will be the responsibility of the Executive Committee and/or Task Groups of the Board. Again, a Happy New Year to all! If this is the year for you to get more involved in your community, please do get in touch. 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 Page 6 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 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 the address and phone number. 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 The passing of librarian Hélène Merritt Dear Editor, A few years ago, Hélène Merritt was featured in an OSCAR article about the Sunnyside library’s children’s section. These excerpts from that article illustrate her skill, warmth and joie de vivre. It’s crowded in the basement space allotted to children’s books. At least 25 kids under six are on the floor, listening to librarian Hélène Merritt read dinosaur books, interspersed with action play, including dancing the Hokey-Pokey. “Let’s have some fun,” coaxes Hélêne, “if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.” The children jump, clap and roll over on the floor. Parents and care-givers participate or chat together on the side-lines. Hélène didn’t intend to be a children’s librarian when she graduated from Western. “I liked library work because it was an overview of everything. But it didn’t occur to me to take courses in children’s library. I didn’t know then that it was so much fun. It’s a perfect fit.” The children’s librarian role is part teacher, says Hélène, but it’s also part social worker, because “children can find solace in stories.” We have lost a lovely librarian. Tracy Morey (Editor’s Note: Hélène Merritt was a long-time contributor to the OSCAR, and will be deeply missed by us. Brendan McCoy, OSCAR Editor) SodaStream Boycott Dear Editor, I am writing about the article in the December OSCAR titled “Boycotting SodaStream......” I am shocked to see such a highly-charged controversial article in the “friendly” OSCAR Holiday Shopping Between the Bridges Winners By Tammy Giuliani some local fare and holiday treats: On December 5th, Old Ottawa South residents strolled the neighbourhood in support of local business searching for eclectic gifts, fantastic sales and one time offers during the Holiday Shopping Between the Bridges event. Six lucky winners of the Holiday Shopping draw will be enjoying Stephanie Young hit the jackpot with a specialty Gift Basket valued at over $180 from Hair Republic. Brenda Bedford will be making the wee ones jump for joy with a $50 Gift Card from 3 Little Monkeys and an adorable Twilight Ladybug projector from Boomerang Kids. Sybil Stymiest will be celebrating the season with a $50 Gift Card from The Garden of Light along with a basket of posh treats for spoiled pets from WAG. Cindy Vervaeke will be relishing some gourmet fare with a $50 Gift Card from Stella Luna Gelato Café alongside a seasonal treat basket from Framed. newspaper. I too am Jewish and a long-time OOS resident like the author but I see boycotting Israel as a simplistic reaction to a country, which though far from perfect, is nevertheless the only democracy in the Middle East. Yes, the situation is highly complex but the problems between Israel and the Palestinians will not be solved as long as Hamas has the stated goal of “wiping Israel off the map”. I personally would appreciate if your newspaper would refrain from publishing such inflammatory articles in the future, which I don’t believe should be part of a community newspaper. Jacki Langsner Lisa Fuley will be living the good life with her funky Mahalo ukulele and carrying case from the Ottawa Folklore Centre and two decadent dessert pies from Life of Pie. Jana Rand will be cooking up a storm with the Community Cookbook “From Our Table to Yours” and enjoying a $25 Gift Card from Clothes Secret. Congratulations Irena Bell! Irena Bell of Old Ottawa South received a certificate of recognition from CHIN radio (97.9 FM), which is celebrating its tenth anniversary in Ottawa. Irena is one of the original six producers at this multiethnic radio station. Her Ukrainian program has been on air since CHIN started in Ottawa in 2003. In photo - Francesco DiCandia, general manager of CHIN Ottawa, Irena Bell, and Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa. PHOTO BY KEITH BELL THE OSCAR l Page 7 JANUARY 2014 REMEMBRANCE Remembering Hélène Merritt By Kate Jaimet Our neighbourhood felt a little smaller and a little sadder in December, after the death of our beloved children’s librarian, Hélène Merritt. For more than 25 years, Hélène shared her love of reading, her generosity of spirit, her kindness and her laughter with everyone who frequented the Sunnyside library. Parents and children searching for a book on a special topic, or a hardto-find work by a favourite author, knew they could turn to Hélène for help. Nezahat Turegun remembers how she visited the library with her young son more than a decade ago, when they were newcomers to Canada who barely spoke English. “My son started liking Raffi so much. He was in and out, trying to get everything that was by Raffi. One day, he said he wanted the Christmas album. It was July,” she recalled. The seasonal material had all been stored away in a special overflow area, but Hélène didn’t refuse the young boy. Instead, she took him to the overflow area and got him the album. Ms. Turegun says her son, now in university, still remembers that gesture. “He wrote on his Facebook page: She was my favourite librarian. She gave me the love of reading.” Hélène’s way of putting others before herself extended to her librarian colleagues. Donna Clark, a librarian who originally worked with the old City of Kanata, remembered first meeting Hélène at a meeting of the Children’s Advisory Group during the amalgamation of the City of Ottawa. The meeting was taking place at a downtown branch, and Ms. Clark and her Kanata colleagues arrived late after being stuck in traffic. “We arrived late and all the chairs were taken,” Ms. Clark recalled. “She immediately arose and said: ‘We should give our chairs to our guests.’ She gave us her chair, and she sat on the floor.” Hélène lived downtown, alone except for her much-loved dog. Her colleagues became concerned for her well-being when she failed to arrive at work on Monday, December 2nd. It was unlike Hélène to be late without phoning in, let alone miss a day of work. After staff at the library were unable to contact her at home, they got in touch with her mother. In the early morning hours of December 3rd, Ottawa Police issued a missing persons bulletin, saying that she had last been seen on November 30th, and that her car had been found near the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau on December 2nd. Friends hoped against hope that Hélène would be found and the mystery explained, but in the evening of December 5th, police issued a brief advisory informing the public that her body had been recovered from the Ottawa River. Foul play was not suspected. In the days that followed, many of those who knew Hélène as the woman in the Children’s section with the smiling face and twinkling eyes, found themselves gravitating toward the library to share their grief and memories with each other. Librarian Frank Dimech said that A Celebration of the Life of Our Children’s Librarian Come join us for a Celebration of Life commemorating our Sunnyside branch’s Children’s Librarian, Hélène Merritt, on Friday, January 10th, hosted by the Southminster United Church, in their hall, at 15 Aylmer Avenue. Everyone is welcome, bring the whole family. There will be stories, music and laughter. We ask people attending be so kind as to bring a light snack to share. Coffee, tea and juice will be provided. Set up at 6 p.m.; Program starts at 6:30 p.m. Anyone interested in helping set up, presenting a Memory/ Story about Hélène or any other assistance, please contact Yvonne at the Sunnyside branch library, 613-730-1082, ext. 33 / yvonne.vanlith@ biblioottawalibrary.ca The family would appreciate Hélène’s smile and twinkling eyes were always a comfort to him. “If you went into a room and heard her laughing, you would immediately feel better.” Yvonne van Lith, Co-ordinator of the Sunnyside library, said she was always impressed with Hélène’s depth of knowledge. Not only did Hélène write book reviews for the OSCAR and keep up the library’s blog, she also ran three motherdaughter book clubs. “Up in our staff lounge, we have one of those big, comfy chairs, and you can picture her curled up in it, reading. That’s what she did on her breaks.” Ms. van Lith said. “She was such a warm and well-read person.” A book of condolences and a table of Hélène’s favourite books have been set up inside the library as a donations to the Canadian Mental Health Association or the Ottawa Humane Society. The Ottawa Public Library welcomes donations of material from individuals or groups and it is asked, please, that they meet our selection criteria policy or you can make a monetary donation for the Library to select books in Hélène’s honor. Donation forms are available at the Sunnyside branch at the Cards & Accounts, Adult Services Information and Children’s Services Information Desks. small tribute. Ms. van Lith said that her colleagues will hold a celebration of Hélène’s life on January 10th at Southminster United Church. Page 8 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 PLANNING House Conversions, Planning and the Meaning of the City: An Interview with City of Ottawa Planner Tim J. Moerman By Janine Debanné At the sight of formerly modest detached houses becoming subsumed within large “additions” punctured with fields of bedroom windows, many of us felt offended by the term “house conversions” being applied to them. The City agreed with Glebe, Sandy Hill and OOS citizen outcry regarding these projects. The sudden emergence this past year of large Converted Dwelling projects on residential streets was of such concern that Council, prompted by Councillors David Chernushenko of Capital Ward, and Mathieu Fleury of Rideau Vanier, swiftly approved a motion in April of this year for an interim control bylaw, resulting in a moratorium on such permits. (And when a counselor avails him or herself of this tool, it is at the cost of future opportunities of being able to do so. In other words, the interim control bylaw is reserved for pretty serious issues). The interim control bylaw bought time for a careful examination of the zoning bylaw so that the right amendments could be made. The conversions study fell to City of Ottawa Planner Tim J. Moerman, who answers questions here about the house conversion zoning amendment recently made public on the City of Ottawa conversions website. Tim is an Ottawa native who worked for several years in Moncton New Brunswick, and returned to Ottawa in 2010 joining the City of Ottawa. His planning degree is from McGill University. Tim J. Moerman (TM): I appreciate the opportunity to get information about the conversion amendment out into the public view. We’ve had a lot of response and participation. The attendance at the public meeting at City Hall in September was phenomenal, and we took lots of notes. I felt gratified that people came to tell us what they felt the roots of the problem were, and to share solutions. We’re now approaching the home stretch where we’ve made recommendations. The deadline for comments is January 10th and we encourage people to comment. We’re expecting to submit a report to Planning Committee on March 25th. Janine Debanné (JD):Can you remind us here what was formerly considered a “house conversion”? TM: A house conversion in this context is when you modify an existing dwelling (usually a one- or twounit dwelling) to house three or more units. The current zoning also has a use called “Converted Dwelling”— that’s a building that’s modified so as to house four or more units. JD: The new bylaw deletes the term “Converted Dwelling” from its list of definitions, and places this now defunct category under the broader definition of “Low-rise Apartment Dwellings.” Can you briefly explain why you made this change? TM: When we were looking at how we could amend the zoning regarding converted dwellings we saw two implicit (and mutually exclusive) strategies. In the first, we continued to make a distinction between buildings that were built with several units at the outset and those built as one dwelling and then altered to house more. In the second, we asked “why are we even making a distinction between modified older buildings and new ones? Three units are three units, and the same rules should apply regardless of what it used to be.” We decided on the second strategy. In the amended zoning, there will be no such thing as a Converted Dwelling: if it has four units, it’s a “Lowrise Apartment Dwelling” whether converted or purpose-built, and it has to meet the zoning standards for a Low-rise Apartment Dwelling. And if you’re making a Three-unit Dwelling or for that matter a duplex, you’ll have to meet the zoning for those uses. Most significantly, under old rules, when you converted, you were subjected to the zoning rules that applied to the old use, not the new use. JD: Can you give an example? TM: Let’s say there was a zone where you could have a detached house on a nine-meter wide lot, but where a Low-rise Apartment Dwelling required at minimum a twelve-meter wide lot. Under the old rules, you could convert that house into four units on that nine-meter lot even though if you tore it down, you would not be allowed to build a new four unit building there. In the amended bylaw that’s not possible. Any advantages accrued simply by something being converted are now gone. And in practice, the zoning controls will be much more stringent than what currently applies to “Converted Dwellings.” JD: The term “Converted Dwelling” as a permissible use is found all over the bylaw text. What happens with that? TM: That line “Converted Dwellings” gets removed from the list. It ceases to exist in the zoning bylaw. JD: That will bring us back to the spirit of the R3 definition, then. TM: Yes. Historically, the intent of the permissible “Converted Dwelling” use in the R3 zone (and elsewhere, for that matter) was that if there was a big old house that no one wanted to live in as a single, and someone wanted to preserve the building and cut it up on the inside to make apartments, there were provisions that were intended to make it easier to do that than tear down and build new. That is part of what the special rules for conversions were about, including the right to a fourunit Converted Dwelling in R3. But we saw applications of the bylaw that did not follow the spirit of the intent, where the house was unrecognizable. JD: Effectively, there can be no more four-unit buildings in R3 zones. TM: In R3 zones the only use that allowed four units no longer exists. New? Three units. Converted? Three units. We heard them loud and clear, and we agreed. We got rid of that right to an extra unit. JD: You got rid of the extra unit, but can you still get twenty-four bedrooms in? TM: The conversion amendment is one of the things we are doing. There is also infill 2, that is limiting the size of the building. The number of bedrooms by implication will be smaller. The Planning Act does not empower us to limit the number of bedrooms or occupants in a building. Our main tool to control scale and density is the building envelope. Infill 2 is making sure that what will be built will be within a smaller envelope. But no, we cannot directly regulate the number of bedrooms. JD: Does the bylaw amendment address the question of number of dwellers per square foot? TM: That is not in the powers that are given to us in Ontario. We’d always like to have more tools in our toolbox, but in practice, to misquote Donald Rumsfeld, you go to work with the legislation you have, not the legislation you wish you had. Eliminating these special rules for conversions should go a long way to addressing people’s concerns. JD: Some of the recent house conversions in OOS would not have been possible under the revised bylaw. Can you briefly explain what would make these projects impossible today? TM: In the case of 167 Aylmer, and I use this example only because it is known to people and it is often referred to, the R3 zone will no longer Continued on pg 9 THE OSCAR l Page 9 JANUARY 2014 PLANNING - CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 allow four units--so a conversion to four units simply wouldn’t have been a permitted use. Furthermore, even if you wanted to convert to a Three-unit Dwelling, it would be subject to the zoning rules for Three-unit Dwelling. In that particular zone, a Three-unit Dwelling requires a minimum of a twelve-meter wide lot; and as it happens, that particular lot is less than twelve meters wide. So under the new rules, even a three unit would not have been allowed on that lot, as it is less than twelve meters wide. A duplex is all that could be built there under the amended bylaw. JD:These projects are built now, and from an urban pattern point of view, the damage is done, especially for adjacent houses and affected blocks. From an operations point of view, some questions are still to be answered. We’ve seen that their rents are very high in comparison with other apartments ($3150 for a fivebedroom unit, monthly, in one case). Should these not succeed, can you say anything about what their future might hold? TM: Housing is expensive and there are people who look for space in desirable neighborhoods. The student population will always be a presence. Multi-unit dwellings could also be interesting for older people. We do have an aging population. With modifications to the interior, you might have older people who live with roommates like they did when they were twenty, to get over social isolation, and to live centrally in a walkable neighborhood. Housing is something we need, and it’s good to have a variety of kinds. JD: That’s an interesting thought. TM: I’m not unsympathetic to people’s concerns about what has been going on. My view has always been that intensification not only has to, but will happen. There are unstoppable forces. The question is do we open the right doors and windows so that it happens in a way with which we are happy. Intensification has to be more gradual. There’s a difference between “bigger” and “way bigger.” JD: The “Converted Dwelling” was quite flawed in not facing up to its identity as a small apartment building. The amendment deals with that problem, correct? TM: Yes. A lot of people commented on the issue of green space. The amendment requires that for every dwelling unit up to 8 units, you need to provide fifteen square meters of ground level amenity space for every dwelling unit, effectively re-instating backyards. This will signal to some- one who is planning to do something on a lot to be more sensitive about not knocking down trees. It will also ensure more continuity with detached houses and duplexes, which have yards, where people garden, and children play. In current zoning the amenity space for Low-rise Apartment Dwellings is not required to be at grade, so you get jumps from grade level amenity to balconies. And I think and hope that that will open up housing options for people in that dead zone between the house and the apartment building. JD: Is the amendment likely to be appealed? TM: It can still get appealed at the OMB. This just means that everything you do, you have to have a good reason for it. I have to be confident that the OMB will support us. Good planning is our job and what we’re there to defend. The OMB is there to keep municipalities honest. JD: So we can hope that there’s been a real change for our neighborhoods? TM: Yes, absolutely, this is a substantial change to the rules. Between the Conversions Amendment, Infill 1 and Infill 2, I think people will see very different outcomes and I think they will be happy with what they see. JD: Can you describe your utopia? TM: My hope, and what drove me into planning, is that our cities need be places that people are happy to be in, and where people don’t feel stuck in a painfully imperfect world. That’s the hope. Recognizing we’ll never quite get there, we try to get as close to that as we can. Seeing people set aside their doubts, and coming out to be heard, was really encouraging. We want and need to hear from the public. There’s always stuff we don’t know. We don’t necessarily see the details in the day to day. And planning is a collaborative process. A city is a thing that we are in together. Thank you to Tim Moerman for sharing his thoughts with the community of OOS. And remember that comments on the house conversions bylaw amendment may be submitted until January 10th via email (conversions@ ottawa.ca), letter (Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier West, fourth floor) or fax 613-580-2459. Janine Debanné teaches architecture at the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism at Carleton University, and resides in Old Ottawa South. dianeandjen.com Spring is the Season for Moving! Whether you’re buying or selling, plan now. Together we’ll get it done. Visit us online at: dianeandjen.com home@dianeandjen.com 165 Pretoria Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 1X1 613 238-2801 make your way home Proud Sponsors of Brokers Diane Allingham & Jennifer Stewart Page 10 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 TRAFFIC Traffic News (and All That Jazz) By Winnie Pietrykowski There have been two recent public meetings on traffic, one on November 27th in Old Ottawa South and the other on December 9th in the Glebe. The November meeting covered the results of the 2013 Riverdale and Area Traffic Study, while the December meeting focused on the Transportation Monitoring Plan, a key outcome of the Lansdowne Transportation Advisory Committee (LTAC). Riverdale & Area Traffic Study The Riverdale Study includes the Riverdale Avenue corridor between Bank Street and Echo Drive (up to Avenue Road) and several adjacent side streets. Since the first Open House in May 2013, City staff assessed various traffic calming improvements recommended by residents verbally and in writing for potential application. Elements of the June OOS Traffic Study specific to the Riverdale Study were also submitted for the City’s consideration. The purpose of the second Open House on November 27th was to present to residents the draft recommendations from the Riverdale Study. Kyle Carson city manager for the Study advised that the presentation boards are up at the following link: http://ottawa.ca/en/riverdale-avenuearea-traffic-managementstudy Essentially, the City’s preferred recommendation and that of two OSCA representa- tives working with the City St. Giles Presbyterian Church resentatives from the Glebe included: one speed bump on on Bank Street and First Ave- and Old Ottawa South. Sunnyside Avenue (location nue. Over the past 18 months It had snowed Monday, to be determined), two speed community representatives, traffic was slow, it was hard bumps on Riverdale Avinvited experts and City staff to walk and a large crowd enue, one between Bank & have been meeting as part of was not expected. Residents Cameron, the other between the Lansdowne Transportastarted to arrive around 6:55 Cameron and Belmont. There tion Advisory Committee p.m. At first it was just 5 or will be ladder crosswalks at (LTAC) to discuss anticipated 6 at a time, then maybe 10 or Riverdale & Sunnyside and traffic and parking challenges a dozen. Shortly after 7:00 at Riverdale & Cameron. that a redeveloped Lansdp.m. a continuous stream Also at Cameron there will owne Park will bring. of an estimated 200 people be bulb-outs to improve peOne of the key outcomes flowed into the hall, all in destrian crossing and to emof LTAC is a Transportavarious stages of pulling off phasize stop signs. There will tion Monitoring Plan which gloves, hats, scarves, opening be new maximum coats, folding 40 km/r speed signs them over chairs installed on Camor railings, eron & Belmont and claiming the few A copy of the Lansdowne new parking signs remaining seats, Transportation Monitoring Plan (with no changes as shuffling to the to duration) along sides of the hall, plus Appendices can be found at Riverdale Avenue. standing in rows www.oldottawasouth.ca Remember, this is at the back, your Traffic Study. looking for Appendix F provides the list of Comments to Kyle related material recommendations from OOS Carson, will be very to read and exmuch appreciated. changing greetand a table prepared by the Please submit your ings as everyone City on the status of these comments by e-mail positioned to cityofottawaareatthemselves in an recommendations. rafficmanagement@ already overottawa.ca on or crowded basebefore January 17. ment hall. For more informaSome resition, please contact: provides a range of data dents arrived with placards from baseline parking & reading “Keep buses on arteKyle Carson traffic counts, targets against rial routes only,” others stood Coordinator, Area Traffic which to measure changes in shoulder-to-shoulder on a Management transportation behaviour and side balcony, leaning over Planning and Growth Man- usage, and best practices for the railing, some waving to agement a data collection framework neighbours and friends from 110 Laurier Avenue West for both day-to-day activities the Glebe, Dow’s Lake, Old Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1J1 and special events. Ottawa East and Old Ot613-580-2424, ext. 16874 December 9th was the pub- tawa South. As it turned out Fax: 613-580-2578 lic’s opportunity to comment residents were eager to find E-mail: kyle.carson@oton the Plan itself and LTAC’s out the status of their traffic tawa.ca progress to date. A consultant recommendations and how from McCormick Rankin they were being integrated Lansdowne Traffic and was scheduled to start the into the Monitoring Report. Parking Issues meeting by presenting the The McCormick Rankin On December 9th a public Transportation Monitoring consultant made a valiant meeting, chaired by David Report, followed by comeffort to see her presentaChernushenko, was held at ments from community reption to the end, but it became clear that the Monitoring Report was not addressing the traffic concerns that the audience came to hear. A particularly vocal group of residents were from Lakeside Avenue between Bronson & the QED. What was once a relatively quiet residential Avenue, Lakeside is now identified as a preferred conduit for shuttle buses headed to main events at Lansdowne. A 3-year pilot agreement with the NCC to use the QED also calls for a 2-way shuttle service for concerts or other large events (not CFL games) on Sunnyside, Fifth Avenue, Bronson and Bank. Event ticket prices will include transit service. Brian Mitchell from the Glebe Community Association outlined the efforts of residents to propose minimum traffic-calming measures and how these measures were attempts to mitigate an anticipated 50% increase in the volume of vehicles once Lansdowne opens. As a result of a settlement with the Ontario Municipal Board over 2 years ago, the City must consult with residents about traffic issues related to Lansdowne. Unfortunately very few of the recommendations made by the affected communities have found their way into action plans for 2014. Of the 20 priority measures that the GCA developed, only two have been accepted; of the 45 regarding day-today traffic issues only 7 have been accepted; and of the 17 regarding special events and traffic monitoring only 2 have been accepted. A key concern reflected in the OOS recommendations is pedestrian safety at highvolume intersections such as Sunnyside and Aylmer at Bank. Although six suggestions are under consideration, no commitment has been made. Speaking on behalf of Old Ottawa South and Old Ottawa East, I reinforced Brian Mitchell’s comments that most of the measures recommended by residents can be implemented in the next six months, but it is going to take political leadership on the part of the Mayor and City Council to give City officials the authority to consult in good faith with community representatives. It’s time to prepare for success and design an action plan that will mitigate the impacts of increased traffic on our already congested streets and intersections. The meeting came to a close at 9:30 p.m., allowing half an hour extra for the numerous residents who wanted to pose questions or comment on the Transportation Monitoring Plan itself. David Chernushenko closed the meeting advising residents that he will be following up on the evening’s proceedings and to stay in touch by visiting his website at: capitalward.ca THE OSCAR l Page 11 JANUARY 2014 OOS HISTORY Wanted: Ottawa Life Stories By John C. Walsh Starting in late January, a group of fourth-year and Master’s students from Carleton University’s Department of History will be exploring Ottawa’s neighbourhoods with digital recorders in hand listening to people share their stories of growing up in Ottawa. Our goal is to interview 2025 people, ideally those who grew up in the city anytime between 1945 and 1990. We are interested in hearing your memories of what your everyday lives were like, especially the stories about your local neighbourhood (friends, school, church, parks, corner stores, barber shops, etc.). To that end, we will also be asking you to sketch maps of your neighbourhoods and to use these maps to help us follow your stories. And if you have any other visual culture to share with us (such as photographs), we would love to hear stories about those images as well. Of most interest to us as scholars is how you remember your childhood and youth. What did (and does) your neighbourhood mean to you? How do we know our neighbourhoods? What Local Builder Gives Globally Cathy and John (from local builder Sandy Hill Construction-winner of the Renovator of the Year Award from the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association) in a remote area of south India. They have been doing work in southern India through a charity called Canadians Sharing Locally and does it mean to be from somewhere? One of the goals of our research is to demonstrate how histories and memories of neighbourhoods are woven into the fabric of our contemporary selves. We think a better appreciation of these place memories can and ought to inform debates over the future direction of urban planning, something that is of acute importance here in Ottawa. The study of “place memories” is also a topic galvanizing much scholarly interest across the humanities and social sciences. A third set of goals is a better understanding of the social histories and historical geographies of childhood, topics that remain understudied today but about which we think there is much scholarly and popular interest. But most of all, we are excited to hear your stories about growing up in the city, about going to school, making (and, alas, sometimes losing) friends, exploring your neighbourhoods, doing your chores, going to the movies, getting a soda or popsicle at the corner store, and all those moments that, for some reason, continue to reside in your memories. We shall come to you to conduct the inter- Globally. Here they are presenting rainjackets donated by the charity. The area is very cold and damp, especially in the winter, and many of these tribal children were already sneezing and coughing. These are the first rainjackets these kids have ever seen. views or we are happy to host you here at the university. And if winter co-operates, perhaps we might even go for a walk around the streets and through the parks of your Ottawa. There are lots of ways to participate in this project and to share your stories with us. Students will be producing a wide range of projects from these interviews. This includes research essays and research blogs, but it will also take some other forms of storytelling that we hope will give your stories a life beyond the classroom. Indeed, an important part of this research project is to create a digital archive here at Carleton University that will allow others to also hear your stories through the Internet. We will of course also be providing you with your own copy of the interview so that you may share it with family and friends as well. It is not required that you consent to this kind of archiving of your interviews, but we hope you will consider it. (And we will be providing you with a copy of the interview whether you wish to have it archived or not.) This round of interviews and stu- dent research is the start of a larger and longer project that will grow and evolve in the coming years. Among other things, we hope that Public History students at Carleton will devise new ways to curate and display the stories you share with us. Are you interested in participating? Do you have questions? Do you wish to know more about the Ottawa Life Stories project? Please feel free to contact me via email (john_walsh@ carleton.ca) or telephone (613-5202600 ext. 2821) or follow us on Twitter (@Ott_Life). Please note: the Carleton University Research Ethics Board (CUREB) has approved this project. Should you wish to contact the CUREB and its chair, Andy Adler, you may reach them at 613520-2517 or via email at ethics@ carleton.ca. Thank you for your interest in our project! John Walsh has been a professor in the Department of History at Carleton University since 2003. Sell For Maximum 3.75% or Less Commission Rate Barry Humphrey Sales Representative GREAT SERVICE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE! 613.230.8888 613-296-6060 Direct barryhumphrey@sympatico.ca www.BarryHumphrey.ca 28 YEARS EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE A CHOICE 6% ✗ 5% ✗ 4% ✗ FIRST CHOICE 3.75% OR LESS Page 12 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 MP’S REPORT NDP Successfully Campaigns to Stop Pay to Pay Fees By Paul Dewar With pay-to-pay fees many phone companies, banks and Internet service providers found a new way to gouge Canadians. But thanks to pressure from the NDP and people all across the country, the recent Throne Speech included a plan to end this cash grab. Two in three Canadians live from paycheque to paycheque and are barely making ends meet. This hasn’t stopped some companies from charging additional fees to customers who want to continue receiving monthly statements in the mail. Pay-to-pay fees unfairly target Canadians who don’t have Internet access or who don’t feel comfortable carrying out their transactions online and forces them to pay a two-dollar fee – just to get their bill. Some companies claim that the new fee is intended to help the environment by reducing paper. However, if these institutions were truly concerned about going green, a discount to customers who use online billing would have been more appropriate than a penalty to those who can’t make the transition. Canadians were rightly outraged by this blatant cash grab and my colleagues and I received thousands of letters, emails and phone calls. As part of the NDP’s practical solutions to make life more affordable for Canadians, we called on the Conservatives to end the rip-offs and prohibit companies from charging pay-to-pay fees. New Democrats also launched a national campaign to eliminate these extra charges. In the past year, our efforts combined with the more than 10,000 Canadians who air and public health. Since 2003, more than $19 billion has been invested in Ontario’s transmission and distribution networks and more than $21 billion has been invested in cleaner generation. In early December, Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP), Achieving Balance was announced. It encourages conservation and lays out a plan for clean, reliable and affordable energy for Ontarians, where and when they need it. online to contribute their thoughts and ideas. The 2013 LTEP balances five principles that will guide future energy decisions: cost-effectiveness, reliability, clean energy, community engagement, and an emphasis on conservation and demand management before building new generation. Highlights of the plan include: signed our petitions calling for an end to pay-to-pay fees were successful – the Conservatives finally listened. Their recent Throne Speech included a plan to adopt the NDP call to prohibit companies from charging clients for paper bills. My colleagues and I look forward to the government’s full implementation of the plan to stop pay-to-pay fees. MPP’S REPORT Building a Coal-Free Ontario By Yasir Naqvi, MPP der Bay Generating Station will stop burning coal, and will be converted to use Ontario is one step closer to advanced biomass, a fuel being the first place in North for electricity generation. America to eliminate coal as a source of electricity genera- This is the last major step in tion. This is the single largest the Ontario Government’s plan to eliminate coal-fired greenhouse gas reduction electricity. initiative in North America, According to an indepenand will help us all to breathe dent study, Ontario’s coala little easier, and enjoy a fired power plants cost the cleaner environment. Our government has closed people of Ontario an estimated $4.4 billion per year Ontario’s coal-burning Lambton and Atikokan facili- in health, environmental, and financial damages. The costs ties ahead of schedule, and to society arising from air will soon shut the Nanticoke pollution include increased Generating Station – the hospital admissions, lost prolargest coal plant in North ductivity from sick days, and America. These early closures will save the province’s even premature death. We are fulfilling our comelectricity customers about mitment to phase out coal$95 million through reduced fired electricity in Ontario operating and maintenance by also introducing Bill 138, costs. the Ending Coal for Cleaner Over the next year, ThunAir Act. It will ensure the public health and climate change benYasir Naqvi, MPP efits of eliminating Ottawa Centre coal use for electricity generation in Ontario would be protected by legislation. The Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act, if passed, would guarantee that once coal facilities stop operating by the end of 2014, coal-burning generation on the electricity Community Office grid will never happen 109 Catherine Street again. Moving from Ottawa ON K2P 0P4 T: 613-722-6414 | F: 613-722-6703 regulation to legisynaqvi.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org lation signals how www.yasirnaqvimpp.ca fb facebook.com/yasirnaqvimpp important ending coal tw @yasir_naqvi use is to protect clean Here to help you! “The new plan reflects input received from thousands of people across the province. ...to gather public feedback on energy issues in advance of the LTEP.” The new plan reflects input received from thousands of people across the province. Consultations were held in 12 different communities, including one in Ottawa in August, 2013, to gather public feedback on energy issues in advance of the LTEP. Many individuals and organizations participated in person and • Decreasing the need for new supply by implementing conservation programs and standards to offset most growth in electricity demand over the next 20 years; • Lowering costs for consumers. Compared to the 2010 LTEP, residential customers can expect to pay about $520 less over the next five years and $3,800 less to 2030; • Making new financing tools available to consumers starting in 2015, including programs to incent energy efficient retrofits to residential properties; and • Extending the phasing-in of wind, solar and bioenergy for three more years than estimated in the 2010 LTEP, with 10,700 megawatts online by 2021. By 2025 about half of Ontario’s installed generating capacity will come from renewable sources. As part of the LTEP, we will continue to invest in nuclear power through the refurbishment of reactors at Darlington and Bruce. We will not proceed with plans to build two new nuclear reactors in Ontario, saving taxpayers $15 billion. Compared to the previous plan, Achieving Balance is expected to reduce projected cost increases by $16 billion in the near term (2013-2017), and $70 billion to 2030. These cost reductions will be realized even as Ontario keeps its commitment to phase out the last of its coalfired generation by the end of 2014. We are working together to help people in their everyday lives while being stewards of our natural environment to protect our children, our grandchildren, and our community. Protecting the environment while providing clean, reliable and affordable power is part of the Ontario government’s plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure, and support a dynamic and innovative business climate across our province. THE OSCAR l Page 13 JANUARY 2014 MAYOR’S REPORT Reflecting on Three Years in Office By Mayor Jim Watson It is hard to believe that it has been just over three years since our Council began its term. The time has flown by as my Council colleagues and I have tried our best to work together in a calm and professional manner to move Ottawa forward on a number of fronts. As we begin the last year of our term, it is worth looking back on what we have accomplished so far. I campaigned in 2010 on a promise to limit any annual tax rate increase to a maximum of 2.5%. I am proud to say that we beat that target in each successive year: 2.45% in 2011, 2.39% in 2012, 2.09% in 2013, and just 1.9% for 2014. While controlling taxes, it is also important that we make the necessary investments in the future of our city. We must constantly upgrade roads, sidewalks, sewers and water mains and at the same time provide the services that everyone demands each and every day – police, fire, paramedics, libraries, parks and recreation facilities and programming, public transit, fresh water, waste removal and recycling, and much more. We have found a balance to do just this and also maintain Ottawa’s strong credit ratings. Over the past three years we have had projects of all sizes get off the ground that taken together are beginning to transform our City for the better. We managed to freeze recreation fees for four years to benefit young and old across the city and we have invested in libraries across Ottawa. Brand new recreation facilities have been completed in Kanata and Orleans and another is under construction in Barrhaven to better service our growing communities. In addition, the new Sensplex East will open in the fall of 2014 to bolster our city’s rink capacity for teams and skaters of all ages. On the larger scale, Lansdowne Park will open in the summer of 2014 replacing 26 acres of asphalt with a new urban park and mixed-use facility the city can be proud of. We have invested $340 million in road, sidewalk, bike lane, sewer and watermain infrastructure through our Ottawa on the Move program. This work has been disruptive for some but it is short-term pain for long-term gain and the more than 400 projects that are part of it will help bring our infrastructure and entire transportation system up to the level needed before the opening of our Light Rapid Transit system (LRT). The LRT is the single most important infrastructure project in our City since the digging of the Rideau Canal. After years of delay and false starts the mammoth $2.1 billion 13km project is now under construction with a fixed-price contract and a route that will transform the way people move around our city. We have secured a world-class consortium of companies to do the work and I know we are all looking forward to the Confederation Line’s completion in 2018. Lastly, we have taken several proactive steps over the last three years to improve the accountability of city council. We have appointed an Integrity Commissioner and implemented a Council Code of Conduct, set up both lobbyist and gift registries, and made it so that Council expenses are posted online. This package of integrity measures has made us more accountable as elected officials and made us a leader in the province and Canada with regards to transparency at the municipal level. Most importantly, we did it because we wanted to, not because of scandal. I am proud of what this council has accomplished in our first three years of this term and I look forward to another great year in 2014. COUNCILLOR’S REPORT Ottawa Can Do More to Prevent Urban Isolation By David Chernushenko Speaking to a neighbour while shovelling snow, I learned of her plans to retire in Toronto. Thanks to our harsh winters, Ottawa just isn’t a place for seniors, she said. “They feel isolated. It’s not healthy.” I was tempted to rhyme off my usual lines in defence of the city and season I love: “It’s not that bad. Winter is just a state of mind. You’ve got to get outside and embrace it …” But I had a feeling that if I were 20 years older, perhaps with mobility challenges, I might not be so enthused about winter. Just that day, I had been slipsliding my way home from my Bank Street bus stop. It’s just three blocks, but it felt plenty long even for me, fit and active at 50. What must it be like for somebody older, less fit, living alone or reliant on an assistive device? How likely would I have been to venture out that day to run errands, attend a fitness class, meet friends at the local cafe? Not very! I would have needed someone to drive me. If no such someone was available, if the wait for Para Transpo were lengthy, if I couldn’t afford a taxi, or if I just didn’t feel up to making those calls, I would likely have stayed home, perhaps alone. Long and lonely winters are the reality for many amongst us, and the number of people facing such challenges will only grow as our population ages. Yes, there are ways to connect virtually with friends and family. Between Facebook, email, Skype and the good old telephone, can you ever really feel alone? We’ve never been more connected and in touch with our “friends.” Yet several studies have identified a growing sense of isolation among people of all ages, but notably the less mobile. It would seem that being virtually connected is not much better than being outright alone. A true friend is more than a photo on Facebook, or somebody who “likes” your status update. It’s someone who drops by for tea or invites you out to a film. It’s someone who rushes over when your basement floods or offers you a lift to church and back. Sure, connecting with far-flung relatives via the Internet is a lot better than seeing them every few years when you fly to Victoria or Hong Kong. But, in our quest to reduce isolation as part of building healthy communities and citizens, we can’t expect technology to provide all the solutions. Addressing this issue benefits us all through improved physical and mental health, and the kind of societal health that is generated when people know each other, watch out for each other and share experiences and goals through frequent, often informal personal contact. “Looking out for each other” is an older way of putting it. “Eyes on the street” is a newer way of describing the phenomenon of citizens who are literally on the sidewalks, sitting on a bench or gazing down from a balcony, from where they meet people, see what’s going on, and care enough to take action when required. What can I do — in concert with the communities I represent, other councillors and city staff — to not just reduce isolation, but build connections as well? • Increase spaces where people can meet others spontaneously and look out over the bustle of daily life: small plazas and parks, more benches, etc. • Build for success: Studies all over the world conclude that tall residential buildings tend to promote isolation, whereas lowrise buildings promote greater interaction. • Promote comfortable indoor gathering spaces and activities for all ages, within community centres, shopping centres, etc. • Work to improve snow clearing on our sidewalks, especially the windrows — those hard-packed ridges left by competing road and sidewalk plows. Is there a place again for manual shovels? • Increase the number of bus shelters, both OC Transpo ones or informal shelters made available near shops and office buildings. • Review the bus route “optimization” that saw some important routes reduced or eliminated, and test the efficacy of boosting bus ridership by increasing frequency of service on select routes. Ottawa is always going to have its cold and dark months, and its weeks of treacherous travel conditions. But that doesn’t mean we should settle for being a “bad place to retire.” Maybe we should automatically consider that whenever we make transportation and planning decisions. Pantry update: The future of The Pantry is generating some emails and calls from Old Ottawa South, even though it’s in the Glebe Community Centre. In the spirit of promoting connections, as of mid-December, I had facilitated two meetings of affected parties to explore ways to keep The Pantry operating in some form. All parties appear open to compromise, and we’ll keep working on a solution. Councillor David Chernushenko, 613-580-2487, David.Chernushenko@Ottawa.ca, www.capitalward.ca Page 14 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 OCDSB TRUSTEE’S REPORT Capital Priorities Process Consultation and School Boards’ New Housing Taxes By Rob Campbell Capital Priorities Process Consultation Should we invest more in older schools in the downtown core? How about expanding populations in portables outside of it? At what point does learning in a portable equal learning in older dysfunctional space? And, how does one determine and rank needs across the District? In the (shocking) absence of any particular built or learning environment standard across the District, how do we deal with the inequities of new buildings with light, air-conditioning, disability access, purposed-built daycare or community space, and so forth, and our older stock? Should these concerns even play a role? In early January, the Board of Trustees likely will approve a package of OCDSB capital priority process ideas to go out for public consultation. We have had several internal discussions and it will be time very soon to hear what you think. It is critical that citizens engage with this one, not only as it will be a pretty quick consultation turnaround, but as it holds the potential to determine capital project selection and ranking across all of our schools for years to come, be they renovation, retrofit, refurbishment, new addition, new replacement or greenfields build projects. Trustees (and certainly Board staff) are interested in effectively placing capital priority project determination beyond parochial politics, and into the hands of a more or less impartial and trusted process. However, for Trustees, and for communities, to trust in the magic hand of a hands-off process, it is crucial that that process be credible to Trustees and to their communities, fully value what citizens and educators believe should be offered by a classroom and by a school. I believe that too much attention has been paid to portables numbers over the years. One problem is that they are easy to count and other sorts of inadequate space are difficult to define objectively. The key, for me, is what we define as inadequate space, be it older inadequate space or newer inadequate space. One has to ask, I think, why we say that portables are inadequate space. Is it walking distance to washroom? Square metres? Lighting? Time lost putting on a coat and boots (though enclosed walkways can deal with this). A sense of being external and undervalued? How does that compare with basement space in an older schools? Lack of light? Inadequate washrooms or heat/cold control problems in older schools, and so forth? How many projected years of asking students and staff to deal with inadequate space, whatever its nature, is too many years and deserves a capital spending response? How should these considerations and others get factored into the capital priority criteria setting we will be embarking on as a result of this process review and delegation? School Boards’ New Housing Taxes Little known to most citizens, all Ontario School Boards do maintain a restricted right to levy an indirect form of consumer tax based on new development, be it new suburban homes or new infill developments. This money may be used only for new land acquisition and its servicing, if an area is a demonstrated growth area. An equity problem here however, as I see it, is that we have always levied this education development charge (or EDC) on developments in every part of Ottawa, knowing that the likelihood we could ever use it anywhere else than the suburbs was very low. Years ago, the Province allowed School Boards to charge for new buildings as well as replacement ones, major refurbishment and additions, based on EDCs, but this has not been the case now for some years. Then, there was a benefit to all parts of the city, but when EDCs changed, we did not. We have been advocating for a return to that EDC flex, but it is not clear that the Province will ever agree as municipalities generally are opposed to any other entity levying development charges but them. We are then, as a School Board, likely always going to be collecting development charges from everywhere in Ottawa in order to support new school lands acquisition in ever sprawling suburbs. It is in effect, and I don’t think there is a way of escaping this, a small subsidy for urban sprawl and a further disincentive for usually smaller scale neighbour- Locations in New Edinburgh, Old Ottawa South & Ottawa West • FITMOM 2B prenatal fitness • FITMOM & BABY indoor fitness with babies • FITWOMAN bootcamp • FITMOM Stroller outdoor fitness with babies www.fitmomottawa.com info@fitmomottawa.com 613.617.4537 hood intensification developments. Sprawl affects not just cities, but school board capital budgets as well. Older schools may lose students, perhaps get put up for consolidation or have weak learning support numbers, and the thirst for new school dollars can never be slaked as development continues to move inexorably outwards. All this leading to a huge inefficiency in our spending over all, many needs unmet as resources go to service ever newer communities, and adding to a constant accommodation review upset. School Boards have the power to differentially levy EDCs by geography or by housing type, if they wish, though we have never availed ourselves of this option before. While urban planning is not a School Board mandate issue, one does wonder whether School Boards are fully on deck with modern urban planning concerns as well. And, as one of the very largest municipalities anywhere in Ontario geographically, dwarfing the homogenously urban Toronto Board that way, and yet also quite unlike homogenously rural Boards, this is perhaps more of a question for us than most other Boards in Ontario. Though I do see several pros and cons to the status quo, and also to a change in this area, I think that it is time that we at least discussed this openly. Such an opportunity should arise sometime in the next couple of months as we review and debate our next multi-year EDC bylaw. Have a comment or question? Mail me at rob@ocdsbzone9.ca For OCDSB policies, upcoming Board of Trustees meeting background docs, and other material, please visit www.ocdsb.ca. Hopewell Avenue Public School Kindergarten Registration Period is Jan 27 – 31 at the School Office THE OSCAR l Page 15 JANUARY 2014 OCSB TRUSTEE’S REPORT Putting Students First By Kathy Ablett, Trustee The beginning of a new year offers everyone a “fresh start’; time to reflect on past commitments and move forward with renewed energy and resolve. Our Catholic schools provide a rich environment that supports and promotes Student Success for each and every student, Staff Development for all employees, and careful Stewardship of Resources. This is a system that takes pride in student achievement and is consistently researching ways to share best practices. Junior and Senior Kindergarten Programs – 2014-2015 Simone Oliver, Superintendent of Student Success Elementary, updated the Board on a number of issues related to junior and senior kindergarten. As of September 2014, all Ottawa Catholic School Board elementary schools will have full-day kindergarten. Also all Board kindergarten classes will be French immersion classes with 50% of the children’s instruction in French. Come and be part of something great! The official registration for kindergarten is January 20-24, 2014 at all elementary schools, and registration is also available anytime. QUEST Conference Julian Hanlon, Director of Education, and Denise Andre, Deputy Director of Education, shared with the Board some of the highlights of the 2013 QUEST conference presentation. The QUEST conference is held annually and is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education and the York Region School Board. This year’s conference was held November 2023 in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The focus of the conference was “ReImagining Public Education: Innovative and High-Performing Global Practice that Sustains Improvement.” High-performing jurisdictions from around the world were invited to present at the conference, including Finland, Singapore, England, Calgary and California. Ontario’s education system is considered to be one of the best in the world. Within this context, four boards regarded as high-performing, were invited to share their journeys, to reflect upon their successes, challenges and plans for the future. The Ottawa Catholic School Board was invited to present as one of the province’s highly successful districts. Our journey was presented as “A Learning Organization – Building an organization that learns at all levels.” The foundation of the Board’s QUEST presentation was “if/then” statements: If we learn and grow together, within collaborative spaces; If we use learning tools to support and monitor our growth over time; If we intentionally establish professional learning communities where “learning is the work”; and, If we reflect and consolidate the learning: THEN the system will learn and grow. The Board also met recently with Ministry officials who wished to learn more about our Leadership Journey Program as one of the outstanding boards in the province. We currently have over 750 staff involved in leadership education. If, at any time, I can be of assistance to you please do not hesitate to call me at 526-9512. EVALUATE OSCA Continued from page 1 OUTDOOR RINK ICE www.oldottawasouth.ca coat of water. No one could recall a time when we could start a skating season at Windsor Park as early as December 12, but we were all agreed: it looks like it’s going to be a good, long season. Don Cummer has contributed to OSCAR many times over the years – for almost as long as he and his buddies have been flooding the Windsor Park rinks. Top - Mark Conley flooding. PHOTOS BY DON CUMMER Brokerage Welcomes: Warren Newberry Sales Representative Glebe Comm / Res Property Traditional Main Street Zoning Dan Moloughney, B.Eng. www. Broker of Record OttawaUrbanRealty 613.233.2323 send your ideas throuhout January to the website .com NOW OPEN Kevin DoDDs Gallery & stuDio Art Works Art Lessons Framing Home Décor 613 286 8512 1101 Bank Street (next to Stella Luna) Page 16 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 SCOUTS 17th Southminster Venturer Scouts Repair Footbridge 17th Southminster Venturers help repair a neighbourhood footbridge. PHOTO BY CHRIS BONYUN (VENTURER ADVISOR) L-R: Matthew Thurm, Daniel Drapeau, Nicholas Bonyun, Siobhan Romaniuk, Alex Thurm, Colin Greenwood, Guy Souliere (OSCA), Stuart Smith (Venturer Advisor). repair the footbridge under Bronson crushed-stone ramps at either end of While finishing the ramps some By Matthew Thurm Venturers checked and replaced Bridge. The Venturers were accomthe bridge. The ground was frozen panied by their two advisors and Guy so they had to use a heavy pick to the hockey sticks on the side of the Early Sunday morning November 3, Souliere, an OSCA Board Member. break the ground, and then scoop bridge, while others cleared oversix members of the 17th Southmingrown brush from around the bridge. Their first task was to remove the up the crushed stone with shovels. ster Venturer Scouts headed out to After clearing away the old ramps After four hours of hard work, but with smiles on their faces, the Venthey set to work digging holes for turers packed up and headed home the wood that would make up the retaining walls, using wood that was knowing that they left the bridge better than they had found it, with the left over from the community garden at Brewer Park. They brought very modest cost of $41.16 donated large heavy stones up from the river by OSCA. bed to support the wood. Once the Special thanks to Southminster walls were completed they rebuilt the ramps with a mix of old crushed United Church, who provide ongoing stone and some new stone graciously support to the 17th Scouts of all ages. donated by Michael Oster. The Hockey Stick Foot Bridge, located under George Dunbar Bridge, was built in 1999. OSCA’s environmental group ECOS got the green light from the Regional Municipality of Ottawa Carleton. I arranged the funding from the Millennium Bureau, Government of Canada. The construction was initiated by Craig Turner and ECOS/OSCA, and was executed by the 17th Southminster Scout Troop, who were paid to do the work. Over the period of 13 years there has been considerable use of, and wear and tear to, the bridge and it was in a great need of repair. By Mike Lacelles Need eager high school volunteers for your event? Contact judith.slater@ocdsb.ca with when, where, what and how to sign up and I will have your volunteer event read over the P.A. and posted on Glebe CI’s Volunteer Notice Board. THE OSCAR l Page 17 JANUARY 2014 FAITH NEWS Church as Community By Hanns F. Skoutajan It wasn’t until my parents and I had come to Canada and taken up residence in the small wartime village of Batawa, that we began attending church on a regular basis. The Protestants, all the non-Catholics in the community, gathered each Sunday in the lounge room of the recreation hall. Several families arrived early to arrange the couches and easy chairs into a worship space. It was without a doubt the most comfortable church I ever attended. Mother brought her potted ferns to enhance the worship centre, and then seated herself at the piano to await the arrival of the minister from a nearby village. Even today whenever I hear Handel’s Largo, mother’s favourite, I am transported to my teen years of worship in that recreation hall. We were a small group who knew each other. Our parents worked for the same employer. We shopped at the small village grocery store. We attended movies and danced at that same hall, and attended the same school. After leaving home for college I began attending regularly in large and beautiful city churches with choirs and a pipe organ and excellent preachers. Nevertheless, I never forgot our little congregation “back home”. We were more than a community, but a family. Today many of those beautiful downtown churches have ebbed dramatically in attendance and are faced with financial problems such as heating and maintenance of large and old buildings. Problems which have suggested amalgamation for many urban churches. Southminster United Church in Old Ottawa South is one of those beautiful worship centres. Perched above the Rideau Canal on Bank Street, it is an imposing structure. I recall being on a canal cruise and as we approached the bridge the tour guide said it was a very popular place for weddings, that, indeed, you would have to book the sanctuary three years before your marriage. I had a mind to tell the tour group that it was indeed very beautiful and that I on occasion have conducted worship there, but I kept my mouth shut. Southminster is gifted with a wonderful organist and choir director who has instituted a very well attended music program on Wednesday noon hours and at other times, which include music from modern jazz to ancient chant, harp, organ, percussion and choirs. Music is such an important element of worship. Many of the churches in town have adapted their “chancel” into a stage where a variety of performances can take place. The Apostle Paul doesn’t deal with numbers in his letters to the churches in Corinth, Ephasus or Rome, rather he asserts that the people of The Way had no distinction between male or female, slave or free. They were communities of faith with all their problems and tensions. The most important task for our churches is to create communities, to give to all who enter these doors a sense of belonging. The church must be a caring community. Undoubtedly smallness is an asset in this task. We may yearn for the good old days when we brought chairs into the aisles to accommodate the overflow and long to hear the walls resound with the sounds of praise. I dare not disparage these memories and hopes. Nevertheless I recall those thirty or forty friends who gathered each Sun- We are so thankful for the generosity of our community of Old Ottawa South! You have overwhelmed us with your warm wishes and your generous gifts!! All our needs have been met from the Wish List!! The clients, staff and Board of Directors are so grateful for you giving locally to Empathy House!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! Happy 2014! day at the recreation hall, who knew each other as neighbours and friends. Having now retired from the preaching ministry I sense the loss. Writing a weekly blog, Spirit Quest, has compensated somewhat for this void. We may not bring back those glorious days of yore, but there is nothing to prevent us from building and being a community of faith and friends. Hanns F Skoutajan, is a retired minister of the United Church. Born in Czechoslovakia he and his parents immigrated Canada shortly before the Second World War. Besides preaching he has published two books: The Road to Peace: Memories and Reflections Along the Way, and Uprooted and Transplanted: A Sudeten Odyssey From Tragedy to Freedom which has been turned into a documentary film called Hitler’s German Foes. Collection of his writings may be found at MYQUEST and SKOUTAJAN’S PAGE. Area Worship Services 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. St Margaret Mary’s Parish 7 Fairbairn (corner of Sunnyside) Tuesday Evening at 7:00 pm Friday Daytime at 9:00 am Sunday Mornings at 9:30 am and 11:30 am Trinity Anglican Church 1230 Bank St (at Cameron Ave) Sundays: 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: 10:30 am OSCAR DELIVERERS NEEDED - Please contact Distribution Manager Larry Ostler 1) The block including the south side of Hopewell, west side of Grosvenor, north side of Glen, east side of Leonard (48 papers). 2) The block including the north side of Chesley, west side of Harvard, south side of Raleigh and east sides of Wendover and Warrington, and the triangle including the north side of Raleigh, west side of Harvard and the east side of Warrington (a total of 26 papers). email larryostler@gmail.com or phone 613-327-9080 Page 18 THE OSCAR HOPEWELL PUBLIC SCHOOL Hopewell Public School’s Fourth Annual Blizzard Bazaar By Shealyn Visser On Thursday, December 12, 2013, Hopewell Public School hosted their fourth annual Blizzard Bazaar. The event is spearheaded by the school’s philanthropist club, the Me to We group, which boasts over 90 students in grades 6-8. This very popular school-wide event acts as a fundraiser for the group’s chosen charities. This year the proceeds went to Legacy of Hope (www.legacyofhope.ca) and Tabitha Foundation (www.tabitha.ca). The Me to We students were the main organizers behind the various events of the evening, which included a cake walk, bake sale, kids’ activities, crafts created by different classes, raffle, silent auction and more! PHOTOS BY ANNIE WALKER This is the face JA of change. ARY 22 NU P. M. OUSE H N OPE 4 :3 0 TO 7:30 APPLY NOW! WINTER AND FALL 2014 Discover our Undergraduate Programs: • Conflict Studies • Group Intervention and Leadership • Human Relations and Spirituality • Philosophy • Public Ethics • Social Communication • Theology ustpaul.ca | 223 Main Street, Ottawa ON 613-236-1393 | 1-800-637-6859 Saint Paul University is the founding college of the University of Ottawa (1848), with which it has been academically federated since 1965. l JANUARY 2014 THE OSCAR l Page 19 JANUARY 2014 FITNESS Embrace resistance By Angie Arnold We all know that engaging in regular exercise is one of the most important lifestyle choices we can make. That’s why “get fit” and “lose weight” consistently top the list of most common New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately, they are just as commonly broken by mid-February. That’s not because we’re lazy. On the contrary: it’s often because we overreach. Adopting “go hard or go home” as our guiding principle, we design tough fitness regimes that prove to be unsustainable. Maximize your workouts The Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Michael Roizen, who founded the “RealAge” health assessment and co-wrote the “YOU” manuals, reports that “All of my patients knew they should exercise before they saw me—yet less than 5 percent knew what that meant or how little they needed to do for maximum health benefits.” So he wrote The RealAge Workout: Maximum Health, Minimum Work to explain how a walking routine combined with resistance training can “roll back the years” by improving overall health. If you’re a fan of Oprah or Dr. Oz, you’ll recall his popular segments on their programs. Dr. Roizen shares this simple prescription for fighting the potentially disastrous effects of poor aging: “Walk for 30 minutes at least four times a week and do at least two resistance-training routines and you’ll slash your risk for heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, obesity, and dementia.” That’s 30 minutes of daily effort to gain the maximum age-reduction benefits. A half-hour walk is a perfect start: but what about the resistance training? What is resistance training? Resistance training is the newest phrase to describe weight training or strength training. The method is in the name—with weight machines, free weights, resistance bands, or calisthenics, the body works to overcome a resistance. In doing so, muscle fibres break down and then repair and grow stronger so they’re better able to face that resistance in the future. There are several ways that routine resistance training can reduce what Dr. Roizen calls your biological, or “real,” age. Strong body From age 30 to 70 we can lose more than 25% of our type 2 muscle fibres—our strength fibres. Put another way, we can expect to lose five pounds of muscle every decade after we reach 30. “From age 30 to 70 we can lose more than 25% of our type 2 muscle fibres—our strength fibres. Put another way, we can expect to lose five pounds of muscle every decade after we reach 30.” That gradual loss of muscle mass means you will become weaker over time. In addition to limiting your participation in strenuous physical activity, you’ll find that even functional tasks—such as carrying the groceries or shovelling the walkway—become more difficult. Resistance exercise slows down the loss of muscle mass and increases your muscle-to-fat ratio. With increased strength and stamina, you’ll not only look better, you’ll be better able to maintain your active lifestyle. less susceptible to osteoporosis—a disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue. According to the World Health Organization, more than 70% of women over 50 have osteoporosis or osteopenia, a condition where bone mineral density is lower than normal. In young women, resistance exercise aids in the development of a greater peak bone mass, which can keep growing until around age 30. In post-menopausal women, that training slows bone loss, which means delaying the risk of fracture. And in older women, it helps lower risk of falls, thanks to better strength and balance. Strong metabolism Muscle tissue is metabolically active and burns more calories than other body tissue, even at rest. Regular resistance training results in a 15% boost in your basal metabolic rate—the number of calories you burn just by being alive. For every pound of muscle you put on, your body uses about 50 extra calories a day. By kicking your metabolism into higher gear, resistance exercise helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. That’s an important part of overall good health as we age. Insist on resistance When making your 2014 resolutions, remember that it takes just 30 minutes a day to build a strong body, strong bones, and a strong metabolism. Add regular resistance training to a walking routine, and you’ll either be rolling back the years or taking important steps towards maintaining a healthy, youthful body as you age. Angie Arnold is the owner of the OOS location of Curves, specialists in 30-minute workouts. She holds certifications from the Cleveland Clinic in nutrition, exercise, and behaviour modification. KICK START WEIGHT LOSS IN JUST 30 MINUTES With something new from Curves and Jillian Michaels “I’ve created a cutting-edge workout just for Curves so you get amazing results. Get in here!” J I LLI A N M I C H A ELS COACHING FOR EVERYONE, EVERY WORKOUT RESULTS AT ANY FITNESS LEVEL BURN FAT INCREASE STRENGTH Strong bones Resistance training can also increase the amount of bone minerals in your body, which can make you Try it for a week FREE! * CURVES.COM / 1.800.CURVES30 613-521-1333 1185 Bank Street Ottawa, ON K1S 3X7 Limit one free 1 week fitness membership per person at participating locations. Not valid with any other offer, no cash value and new members only. First visit discount may be offered in exchange for 1 free week. 1 week fitness membership must begin prior to February 28, 2014. © 2014 Curves International, Inc. Page 20 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 TRAVEL Seven Beaches in Seven Days photo on left: Johnny starting his seashell collection at Esquimalt Lagoon. photo on right: George found a shore crab at Bamberton Provincial Park. PHOTOS BY PAIGE RAYMOND KOVACH By Paige Raymond Kovach Growing up on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, we went to the beach whenever we felt like it. High tide, low tide, we had fun whenever we went. Alas I never learned to read a tide chart. This was evident on our most recent trip to Victoria in November. Tides are much different in No- vember than they are in the spring and early summer when we often visit. In November low tides often occur in total darkness, which ruled out tide pool gazing at Botanical Beach. My children love the tide pools at Botanical Beach, like TVs of the ocean. Best viewed at low tide when the limestone tide pools are exposed, and that happened at 6 a.m. and midnight in the week we were there. Winter is here! © Howard Sandler | Dreamstime.com We sharpen skates for hockey, recreational and figure skating! 736 Bank Street 613-234-6353 Mon-Wed 8:30 am to 6 pm Thurs & Fri 8:30 am to 9 pm Sat 8:30 am to 6 pm • Sun 10 am to 5 pm $1. OFF Bring in this coupon for SKATE SHARPENING (Valid until February 28, 2014) Botanical Beach is also famous for rogue waves that crash at the shore’s edge, very dangerous in the dark with curious children. Plus it takes a couple of hours to drive there from my Mother’s house. A good alternative to midnight tide pool gazing is the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre in Sydney, very close to the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal and Victoria International Airport. This not-for-profit aquarium is home to bioluminescent jellyfish, a giant pacific octopus, a spiny dogfish shark, and a touch pool of squishy sea anemone, prickly sea urchin, and spiny sea cucumbers. After a great visit inside, we escaped to Island View Beach, just off the Pat Bay Highway in Central Saanich. The grey sand beach edges the peninsula. My middle son made new friends building an addition to a beach fort. My daughter and her auntie posed for photos wearing delicate seaweed necklaces. My nephews and brother kicked back west coast style. My mom and eldest searched for shells and flat skipping rocks. The beach is just across the bay from Sidney Spit Provincial Park. On a clear day, you can see some of the “We were driving up the Malahat to visit Auntie Friede’s candy store in Ladysmith...” southern Gulf Islands. It also rains a fair bit in Victoria in the late fall. This is great when you see salmon spawning at Goldstream Park, the smell isn’t as strong, but tends to shorten beach combing times. On Monday it was pouring rain. We were driving up the Malahat to visit Auntie Friede’s candy store in Ladysmith, so I thought it would be great to stretch our legs at Bamberton Provincial Park. The kids remembered the shore crabs the last time we were there in June a couple of years ago. The beach was literally crawling with green and purple shore crabs then. I taught them to turn the crabs over to see that the males have lighthouses, while the females have honey beehives. I thought I had properly read our tide charts this time. No, the tide was at its highest point, it was pouring rain, but we managed to find three or four crabs. We spent Saturday morning seeing old friends again at Witty’s Lagoon in Metchosin. It was where I hung out as a teenager. The soft gray sandy beach is an almost endless prairie of sand flats perfect for skim boarding in the warmer season. When my children were younger we spent a whole day hunting creatures in the seaweed hiding saltwater. There is also a great abundance of beach fort building materials. We always take the last trail with the smallest parking lot and about 100 steep steps down to the beach. I thought the tide was going out when we arrived. The children started building a fort from the skeleton of one abandoned by others. Turns out the tide was climbing to the highest point and threatening to cover the bottom step of the stairs so we cut our visit short. But the tide isn’t always high. Sometimes the best beaches are the least complicated. Take the Esquimalt Lagoon. There’s no fuss getting there, just a short jaunt from Fort Rod Hill. A busy road cuts the park in half, and you can park and step out on the beach in seconds. It’s a simple gray sand beach, a perfect spot for a picnic lunch and to stretch airplane-weary legs. Look out into the water -- you may see a harbour seal. Across the bay is Naden, the Canadian Navy base. It’s a great place to begin collecting stones, shells, seaweed, and visit with friendly dogs. On the other side of the road is a bird sanctuary where families of geese, gulls, and swans live. Albert Head Beach is another safe bet, albeit tucked away so that only locals really know about it. Heading towards Metchosin, pass the gravel pit and turn down Farnhill Road, then right on Delgada Road. It winds down through mossy forest to the small cobble stone beach. You may see a blue heron, a swan family, ducks, super long kelp, and other great beach treasures. Our week on the west coast passed too quickly and we went to the beach to say goodbye to Victoria at Clover Point. My brother and I used to fly kites there and saw fearless folks paraglide off the cliff. The world’s tallest Totem Pole is nearby. It was a clear day and we had an unfettered view of Mount Baker, one of the tallest peaks in the Cascade mountain range. It is also a great place to climb over rocks when the tide is out, which it was. If you go beachcombing in Victoria: Botanical Beach Provincial Park www.juandefucamarinetrail.com Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre www.oceandiscovery.ca Island View Park and Campground, Albert Head Lagoon, Witty’s Lagoon - www.crd.bc.ca Bamberton Provincial Park - www. env.gov.bc.ca Esquimalt Lagoon - www.colwood.ca Clover Point - www.victoriabcparks. com THE OSCAR l Page 21 JANUARY 2014 TRAVEL A Belated Return to Gaspé Percé Rock By Joe Scanlon It had been more than 50 years since I last toured the Gaspe. Much of it has not lost the charm it had then. And it’s really not all that far from Ottawa. You can get there and back in less than a week as long as you are prepared to spend one day driving en route to the Gaspe and one day driving back. The rest of your time you can take a more leisurely drive as you pass through one charming village after another. (Even if wanted to rush through you couldn’t as the speed limit – which is often checked – varies from 90 to 50 and changes frequently.) On the advice of friends, we decided to circumnavigate the Gaspe Peninsula heading across from Mont Joli to the north shore of the Bay of Chaleur, passing through towns like New Richmond, New Carlisle, Perce and Gaspe before coming all the way around to head back west along the south shore of the St. Lawrence. There were a few disappointments but some lovely surprises and on the whole the trip was well worth it. The nicest surprise was Cap-desRosiers. We debated whether it was worth heading towards the tip of the Gaspe through Forillon National Park or whether it would be better to cut across the road that allows you to bypass the park. At first after spending what seemed like a lot of time driving along a forest-lined road, we thought we had made a bad decision. Then suddenly we came across Cap-des-Rosiers, its lighthouse and its lovely homes. It was from there, historians tell us that the French sighted the British fleet and General Wolfe heading towards Quebec City in 1759. After that, the few hours were not all that satisfying. Much of the road is up and down hill inland and some of the road is under construction. The speed limit keeps varying and sometimes even the 90 limit allowable seemed a bit high on the curving roads. But the last section as we headed westbound towards Matane was just as I remembered it from more than 50 years ago, a road following the PHOTO BY AMATERIA 1121 curving river and around every bend was another small, attractive town. We finally stopped at a motel in one of those towns. It was clean, not too expensive (a little more than $100 a night) and had a small dining room where the food was excellent. I ordered salad and it appeared to me the chef prepared it while I waited for it was very fresh and very good, as was the house dressing. After reaching Matane, we decided to take the ferry across to Baie Comeau. That was probably “After reaching Matane, we decided to take the ferry across to Baie Comeau. That was probably a mistake.” a mistake. The south shore is more attractive than the North Shore as far as Rimouski or Rivière-du-Loup. However it allowed us to see a rare phenomenon – a cafeteria where the line kept getting longer and where the cafeteria closed before the last customers were served. We did not – as advised – have a reservation on the ferry. As it happened we were first in the waiting line and made it with room to spare but that might have been different later in the season. However it was worth crossing to the North shore for a stop in Tadoussac where – though we stayed at a small motel – allowed us to dine at the Tadoussac Hotel. The old wooden hotel dining room was large, well-staffed, service was very good and the food excellent and well presented. Dinner for two with wine was less than $100 and well worth it. Often we find the plate loaded with more food than anyone but a glutton would want. The hotel servings were just right. The waitress even kept my water glass full, something which I find rarely happens. We travelled in June before most school terms had ended so traffic was not that bad most of the way and accommodation was readily available. We did not make reservations anyC M Y CM MY CY CMY K St. Jean Baptiste traffic on the north where along the way and never got shore as we neared Montreal. There caught short. We did of course luck out with the weather: we had nothing the driving became scary with some drivers determined to cut in and out. but sunshine for the entire trip, even arrived home just before a thunder We escaped by taking Highway 640 to 50 and 15 and on towards first and lightning forecast came true. Lachute and then across the OtIncidentally not every Gaspe community has a motel or hotel and some tawa River to Hawkesbury and over don’t have a service station. It’s not a through Vankleek Hill to highway bad idea to fill up when your tank is 417. There was a lot of traffic headhalf empty and probably wise to stop ing the other way but little in our direction and that route allowed us to a couple of hours before sundown take a brief look at the largely abanjust in case. Since we returned along the north doned Mirabel airport (we did see shore we passed the shrine at Ste. planes from FedEx and Purolator). All in all a worthwhile trip and one Anne de Beaupre and had a chance I suspect that would be even nicer to look at Montmorency Falls. We this autumn especially when the trees also took advantage of a reciprocal arrangement to eat breakfast at the are showing their fall colours. Royal Quebec Golf Club. As it happened we returned home GMSACareGRWinter14b.pdf 8:23 PM on June 24th which means we 1hit 12/11/13 the Page 22 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 GARDEN CLUB Make Artful Flower Arrangements By Carole Love and Colin Ashford Diana Carr, an OOS Garden Club member and one of the “2 Flower Girls” (www.2flowergirls.com), a flower-arranging business that creates fresh and original flower arrangements for weddings, birthdays, etc., has a passion for all things floral. She studied floral design in London, England and for her every arrangement is a labour of love. Diana Carr started her presentation by showing members the supplies that she had brought: Oasis floral foam; wire to bolster soft-stemmed material; secateurs; packets of floral plant food; floral tape; ribbon; skewers and bamboo sticks to help keep flowers upright. As filler, she had ruscus leaves to lend a whimsical air to arrangements, sprays of beautiful pittosporum, and lily grass to add interest. As for containers, her advice was imagination and making use of things at home. Silvery tin cans can showcase red roses; white plastic containers can focus attention on flowers and be light and easy to transport; glass vases with flowers on a stem and a few lily grass leaves can grace a dining table. Additionally, a silver bowl with a domed display of white carnations would create the illusion of a mass of whipping cream. Diana noted that floral foam is soaked before use and may take twenty-four hours to fully moisten; re-use is unwise as foam can acquire germs. Cut-plant-food crystals can be put into the water to help arrangements last longer; arrangements also last longer if watered initially and the water is refreshed as necessary so it remains crystal clear. It is also helpful to cut stem ends when the water is replaced. The first arrangement Diana demonstrated had bright red gerbera blooms amongst stalks of green horsetails in a square glass container. (Wire was inserted into the heavy gerbera blossoms for support and then wrapped around the weak stems and a skewer used to create a hole in the foam for stems.) A white ribbon tied around the container completed under the water and tied the bouquet, taking care that the string did not bite into the stems. Finally she trimmed the stems, noting that a tied bouquet should be balanced so it can stand by itself. Diana had readied two square glass vases, the smaller inside the larger, filled with red cranberries and a little water. To complete the table arrangement, she placed the tied bouquet in the vase, tucking greenery around the container edge to add interest and stability. The final arrangement Diana PHOTOS BY ELEANOR ROSE the arrangement. Diana was of the opinion that flower arrangers need to be flexible and ready to substitute. For example, calla lilies were unavailable that evening so Diana placed stems of rose-like yellow lisianthus among horsetails and added a few pompom chrysanthemums blooms to create a random effect. Bright red roses in tight formation in a cellophane-tape grid atop a square glass vase formed a precise display. Three such containers, the same or different sizes, could form a centrepiece. Diana next demonstrated a tied bouquet of flowers of different heights. Starting with a tall chrysanthemum in the middle, she held the bouquet in her hand and added snapdragon flowers, seeded eucalyptus berries, pittosporum and ruscus greenery, reducing the height as she went along. The result was a free form, somewhat wild effect: viewed from the top, it was balanced overall and as it was rotated, it looked pleasing. She clipped leaves that might dip showed featured aluminum-foil loaf trays filled with ruscus and linked with large paper clips. Fun items were added: hot peppers and key limes on skewers; bunches of grapes sprayed with gold; then small green mums and pittosporum leaves sprayed gold. The result, a low display with splashes of red and gold amidst the greenery, was ready to highlight a dining table. The next meeting of the Old Ottawa South Garden Club will be on Tuesday 14 January at 7.00 pm at the Old Ottawa South Community Centre (The Firehall), 260 Sunnyside Avenue. Josie Pazdzior will take members on an armchair tour of four gardens in Great Britain, and will comment on the plants and garden elements that she found of particular interest. Gardens will include Kew and the Edinburgh Royal Botanic gardens. THE OSCAR l Page 23 JANUARY 2014 ABBOTSFORD AT THE GLEBE CENTRE The 38th Annual Bazaar was a Great Success! By Pat Goyeche Our volunteers gave their time and the wonderful local merchants their unique goods and services. Scotiabank generously sponsored the event and provided a gang of enthusiastic employees who expertly counted, and accounted for, our profits. Ottawa Police Services kept us safe and secure during the event. Chartwell Retirement Residences, Kettlemans, Lord Lansdowne, Starbucks in the Glebe and McKeens Metro kept our volunteers fed and ready for the onslaught of customers. We are truly surrounded by an army of caring community folk... thank you! We also count on our greater community of merchants in Old Ottawa South and The Glebe who donated desirable items and gift certificates to our Merchants’ Silent Auction. As many of you will know this annual bazaar is a labour of love for the members, volunteers, friends, family mem- bers and staff at Abbotsford. The repeated success of the event is one hundred percent thanks to the help and hard work of all these folks. We have had “elves” working in the depths of Abbotsford since the spring – sorting, polishing, pricing and packing our treasures. Abbotsford is the community side of The Glebe Centre. All of our volunteers, clients and members come from the surrounding neighbourhoods and use Abbotsford and its services to keep fit, keep connected, keep creative and keep on living in their own homes. Abbotsford at The Glebe Centre receives about fifty percent of its funding from the government. This means that client fees and fundraising events are essential to keeping the programs going. The New Year will bring new resolutions and growth opportunities to Abbotsford. Growth is what we hope to achieve in the New Year so expect new programs to keep you fit and challenged. Some highlights to look for SOUTHMINSTER Tales of Winter By Paige Raymond Kovach Southside children loved to hear and create tales of winter in November and December. The children in the School Age Recreation Program wrote, designed and starred in their own play called the Magical Christmas. Santa and his elves need help delivering presents so they sprinkle magic dust on farmyard sheep to help Rudolph pull the sleigh. Mayhem ensues when Santa mysteriously gets lost so the elves, Rudolph, and the sheep have to find him to save Christmas. Thankfully Santa was just taking a nap in the barn. Parents and children in the Kinders program were treated to a staging of the play in mid-December. Children in the Nursery School wanted to know how different animals spend the winter. Talk eventually turned to bears and the two classes decided to hold a Teddy Bear Picnic. The children all wore their PJs and brought along their favourite bear to share the morning at Southside. To celebrate the children in Sharon’s class ate porridge with honey and raisins, while the children in Cindy and Krystal’s class had honey on toast and oranges. The Senior Kinders group explored wildlife across the globe. First they learned about tigers on the African savannah, painted a mural depicting their habitat, and in true Halloween spirit, some tigers even wore costumes. Then they moved on to the ocean. After looking through resource books for inspiration, they made sea creatures to decorate the windows of their classroom. Now they are interested in going back in time to discover dinosaurs. in the 2014 Winter Program Guide includes a new Muscle Toning Level 2 to round out your fitness week. This class offers another opportunity to help you retain the strength, balance and flexibility you need to live a safe and healthy life. Our new Chair Yoga is tailored to participants who have limited mobility or who want a gentle yoga class. In this class poses are done seated in a chair and standing using a chair for support. Each class will include a combination of stretching and breathing exercises designed to relieve stress and increase mobility, flexibility and balance. We have yet another new experience for those who want to explore different and complimentary ways to keep fit. This term we will have a four-week introduction to a modified Yang Tai-Chi set and exercises specially adapted to accommodate health restrictions. Performed either standing or sitting, the aim is to regain your health. We are offering an Art Stayed tuned to find out what they find! Southside would like to extend a further thanks to all those who donated generously to the mitten, hat and glove drive for York Street Public School. Your generosity helped keep some York Street students warmer for winter play. Eric Welch, a primary teacher there, distributed the warm accessories to York Street Public School students before the holidays. If you are looking for a creative and dynamic program for your grade 1 to 3 child, please contact the Southside Office. There are still spaces available in the School Age Recreation Program for this school year, www.southsidepreschool.ca or 613-730-5819. Southside reopens on January 6, 2014. We look forward to hearing about your holidays then. See “The OSCAR” online at www.oldottawasouth.ca PHOTO BY PATRICIA GOYECHE Class with Acrylics this term. Patrice Stanley will be teaching technique to both beginners and those who have been “dabbling” for years. Everyone will grow and learn this winter. Finally we will be offering a Bridge Class for both beginners and “rusty” bridge players who need go back to the basics and regain their confidence and finesse. Bridge is food for the brain! We at Abbotsford look forward to the New Year with great anticipation and look back at our year and the Annual 2013 Bazaar with great affection. Pick up your Winter Program Guide at Abbotsford at The Glebe Centre (950 Bank Street). Southside’s After School Recreation performing their Magical Christmas. PHOTO BY LISA BOWKA Page 24 THE OSCAR FILM REVIEWS Two Films with Golden Globe Award nominated Performances The Dallas Buyers Club By Tony Wohlfarth This month, we focus on two exceptional films - both in the “must see” category in advance of the 2014 Oscar Award Ceremonies slated for March 2, 2014. Both films had their world premieres at the Toronto l JANUARY 2014 International Film Festival (TIFF) in September. The Dallas Buyers Club In 1985, as AIDS ravaged through the gay community, an electrician by the name of Ron Woodroof becomes one of its victims. Woodroof (played by Mathew McConaughey) is a classic Texas cowboy, a died-inthe wool homophobe and petty thief who refuses to accept his doctor’s diagnosis that he has thirty days to live. In hospital, Woodroof is assigned to an AZT control group, where he meets a transvestite by the name of Rayon (played by Jared Leto) who shares a similar fate. At first, Woodroof steals AZT from the hospital’s pharmacy and visits an unlicensed Mexican doctor seeking alternative treatments. This unlikely duo overcome interpersonal differences and become business partners to form the Dallas Buyers Club. They share nothing in common, save a healthy skepticism of drug trials. Yet they manage to work together to organize AIDS patients in Dallas to seek more effective medications in Mexico, Japan, and Canada. Based on a true story, the film is directed by Canadian JeanMarc Vallée. McConaughey’s performance is truly remarkable. Reportedly, the 44 year-old Texan lost 40 lbs. for this role (one-quarter of his body mass) and, at times, appears gaunt on screen. Leto, a former musician, also lost a lot of weight for this role. The fact that Leto plays a bi-sexual role contributes to the allure. The larger theme of The Dallas Buyers Club is a stunning critique of the FDA and government’s response to the AIDS epidemic. Strong performances by both actors attracted best acting nominations for the Golden Globe Awards (The award winners will be announced on January 12, 2014.) August: Osage County An aging couple living comfortably in rural Oklahoma opens August: Osage County, the latest film role starring the exceptionally talented Meryl Streep. Streep plays Violet Weston, an aging family matriarch who loses her husband in the opening scenes in what appears to be a tragic accident. As her three daughters arrive to help search for and then mourn his passing, the table is set for a dark family reunion full of intrigue, tension, and drama. The highlight of which features an on-screen clash of legendary proportions between Violet and her daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts). Based on the Pulitzer prize-winning play (of the same name) written by Tracy Letts, the tension builds towards a 20 minute family dinner scene where Violet holds all the cards and knows when to play them. Filmed on location in Osage County in Northern Oklahoma, the cinematography captures both the vastness and the scorching heat and unstable weather found during the summer in the rural plains states. The film (directed by John Wells) reveals a Meryl Streep we have hitherto not seen in her long, celebrated career. Character flaws, from smoking to alcohol and drug addictions abound as secrets and truths are revealed. At age 64, Streep was reportedly reluctant to take on this role. The role she plays as Violet goes from flawed to repugnant. Streep delivers a remarkable performance, worthy of her 4th Oscar for best actress in a leading role. Robert’s performance is also remarkable. She has been nominated for a Golden Globe Awards as the best supporting actress, and is the odds-on favourite. This is the best we have seen from Roberts, since her 2001 Academy Award winning performance in Erin Brockovich. Wells turned to Tracy Letts to write the screenplay, and the result is a very strong script, which draws the audience into the drama. August: Osage County The Dallas Buyers Club was released on November 18 and is currently screening in first-run theatres in Ottawa. The running time is 117 minutes. August: Osage County was released on December 25 and is also currently screening in Ottawa. The running time is 121 minutes. Tony Wohlfarth is an Ottawa-based freelance film writer and critic. He covered the Toronto International Film Festival for The Oscar and can be reached at tonywohlfarth@gmail. com THE OSCAR l Page 25 JANUARY 2014 COMPUTER TRICKS AND TIPS Macintosh vs Windows Revisited By Malcolm and John Harding ‘Tis the season, apparently, for a lot of people to be thinking about replacing their older computers. At this particular time there seem to be a few more reasons than usual for people to be thinking about making a switch from Microsoft Windows to a Macintosh and so we’re getting a lot of questions on that subject. Yes, people who have Macintoshes do love their Macs. It’s borderline fanatic and we can easily understand it. The design of Mac machines is always very distinctive and while we think it’s a bit of a stretch to call a computer “sexy,” we’d have to admit that description probably comes closer to a Mac than any of the competitors. The Macintosh Operating System (OS) has evolved pretty gradually through the generations, in contrast to Windows, which underwent a very radical reinvention last year. Windows 8 (and now 8.1) has not turned out to be the inscrutable and insurmountable bogeyman that everyone feared a year ago, but it does come with a learning curve, and that is not everyone’s cup of tea. Actually, we don’t think that the transition from Windows XP to 8.1 is likely to be harder than XP to Mac. Your computer community is an important factor in this decision. If you can call a friend for a word of advice about what has worked for them, or what software or device to buy, that is a very valuable resource. If lots of your friends have Macs, then there’s a better chance that you will be more comfortable with one too. We have often mentioned here in the past that the Mac owners have a very legitimate right to be positively smug about viruses. In a nutshell, viruses are so rare as to be almost a non-subject in the world of Mac. This is not due to some sort of magic invulnerability, but just simply the fact that the creeps who create viruses want the biggest bang for their time, and so they naturally target Windows computers, at 90% of the computer population, instead of the Macs at about 8%. Software and data compatibility are no longer issues for someone who is considering a switch. There might Carleton University Picks Fight With Gardeners, Arrests Students By Grant MacNeil, President, Graduate Students Association-Carleton Students received a lesson in bullying when senior management at Carleton University cut the locks to Kitigànensag, the GSA-Carleton Community Garden, and ordered it dismantled without students’ knowledge. Senior management then violated community members’ freedom of expression by arresting them for distributing ‘Save the Garden’ leaflets. The administration indicated the garden needed to move, so the GSA proposed a Memorandum of Understanding to outline the process. Instead of responding to that proposal and engaging good-faith discussions, the senior management decided to unilaterally break into the garden and take it apart. Kitigànensag, named by Algonquin elders, has been a source of pride for the whole Carleton community, and especially for the many volunteers who built it and the gardeners who harvested the first crop this past summer. The garden is an excellent example of students, staff and faculty coming together to create something sustainable, recreational, educational and accessible to the whole community. “The decision to rip up the garden without notice and the arrest of peaceful protestors raises serious questions about senior management’s approach to the student experience and respect for the Carleton community,” said Justine De Jaegher, Vice-President Finance. “When students heard this was happening, they came to the garden in droves and managed to stop it. We still can’t believe senior management had the audacity to try this.” Many members of the Carleton community view the senior management’s handling of the community garden and the subsequent arrests of campus community members as consistent with an aggressive approach to independent student-run campus initiatives. Senior management is also supporting the withholding of student levy money to Carleton’s Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), funds to which the campus student organization is legally entitled. The garden is to be replaced by a private, for-profit residence. The Board of Governors, the highest decision-making body of the university, has yet to approve the construction of the proposed for-profit residence. www.oldottawasouth.ca still be a few publishers that don’t offer a Mac version of their Windows titles and vice versa, but this is now pretty rare and there usually seems to be a satisfactory alternative. The other good news is that data created on one platform can almost always be used without difficulty on the other. Cost is probably the most important factor for most consumers. Macs are considerably more expensive and the difference can be up to two to three times as much as Windows computers with approximately equivalent specifications. Mac believers would argue that their computers have a better reliability record, and most studies would agree that this is marginally the case. A cheeky note in a PC World review on this subject counters that just because a Rolls Royce might be the most reliable car doesn’t mean that we all should rush out and buy one. C’mon, now; you didn’t seriously expect us to make this decision for you, did you? Have a look at our blog, at www. compuhomeottawa.wordpress.com for an archive of our columns and other 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. We hope you will have a look at our blog soon or call us at 613-731-5954 to share your opinions and suggest subjects for future columns. Not Dazzled By Your Home Theatre? Want to make the experience better with dramatically improved picture quality and stunning sound? I can help. Discover the full potential of your Flat Screen TV or Home Theatre with an in-home video and sound calibration. I’m a certified A/V professional with over 20 years experience. Call Warren at 613-255-2146 or warren@warrenhodgson.com NEW PATIENTS WELCOME Dr Pierre Isabelle Dr Mathieu Tremblay GLEBE DENTAL CENTRE FIFTH AVENUE COURT-EVENING APPOINTMENTS OPEN MONDAY-FRIDAY For appointments call 613-234-6405 Page 26 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 TASTY TIDBITS FROM TRILLIUM BAKERY What’s the Buzz? By Jocelyn LeRoy Reflections on our Past Year Dear readers and customers: Christmas is over. We’re supposed to be on holidays. Since we’re not on a sunny beach, let’s instead sink into a big comfy chair, pull up a cozy blanket and breathe out a long sigh. Relax. Reflect. A candle glows beside me. As I watch the flickering flame, my mind fills with visions of hundreds of sugarplums dancing in the bakery kitchen – the staggering quantities of products we shaped, baked, decorated, sprinkled with rum, and sold. Memories of rolling out pastry, rum balls, baking tourtieres are all becoming a blur. Trillium’s customers have heartwarming words of appreciation, Christmas and New Year’s best wishes. And I remember quirky orders for unique creations. Such as chicken pot pie without the chicken, and a single cake for 600 people, seven feet wide. Really! It wouldn’t fit into the elevator. Thank goodness we asked for the measurements before we committed to preparation. Trillium Recipé Old-fashioned Split Pea Soup Ingredients 5 cups vegetable stock or water 1 cup split peas 1 carrot, diced How does our past year compare to all our others? Certainly December 2012 was a hoot, with us moving two weeks before Christmas, building a new flower shop and bakery, and creating our sparkling glass-walled dream kitchen. Our first year at 1181 Bank St. has been rewarding, although some of our customers are still wistful when recalling “their” pleasant haven of cookies and sticky buns. They tell us they miss the intimate (cramped) space and the warm atmosphere (overheated by ovens). But all should rest assured: the address may be different, but we’re still totally Trillium. And we even brought along the squeaky screen door; it’s resting in our wide front window. Keeping up with Trends Now, I’m drifting back in time, remembering all the things we’ve done to stay on top of the health trends. Vegetarian, vegan, high-carb, low-carb, no carb. High-protein, lowprotein. Himalayan, Celtic, Dead Sea Salt. No salt. Dairy-free, wheat-free, and the big one: gluten-free. Check! Honey was in, then out, then in. I wonder if outside of Ottawa as many 1 onion, diced 1 stalk celery, diced ½ tsp. salt ½ cup chopped parsley ¼ cup small pasta of your choice Minced parsley Pepper to taste January Special people pay as much attention and spend as much time trying to apply all the dietary adjustments to their daily routines. Toronto or Seattle, maybe. Yet, over the years, Trillium has made many changes to make our bread and goodies “legal” for our customers with restricted diets. Some of you have rebelled and wanted cheese-bread and croissants (naughty treats for sure) with bad fats and sugars. Remember “White Death?” Some of you have eaten our Hikers’ Bread on – yes – hikes. Campers have munched on our Black Russian bread and have testified to its ability to survive long canoe trips and being squashed into backpacks. Your trips make me long for sapphire lakes… I’m dreaming now… More Buzzwords Fibre, organic, non-GMO, natural, local. Trillium has always championed these. But dates grow in spots more than 100 miles away from here. Years ago, I opened a 50-lb box of Iranian dates. As always, I poked through the contents with a big strong knife to loosen the clump. Ping! My knife collided with a large darning Directions Combine the first five ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to boil under low heat. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add pasta. Cover and simmer 15 minutes more. Add salt and pepper to taste. needle, dead centre. Nothing like this has ever happened since. We have shopped for organic “backyard” apples and veggies from local markets. Upper Canada Village craftsmen have made us authentic tin breadpans. And what could be more local than the oven we found on Bank St., having been tossed curbside by a nearby restaurateur. It’s still going strong. These days people are eating quinoa. Some confess they’re getting quinoa’d out. But it is the latest darling of popular high-protein grains. My grandson ate it every day in Peru last summer; it got him to the top of Machu Picchu! Diets. Un-diets. Sugar highs. Sugar lows. Sugar blues (remember them?). Wheatbelly. Grain brain. What will the new trends be? Trillium will be ready. We’ll be right on it. We’ll make it, bake it, love it, keep it. For 34 years we’ve been baking buzzwords, and we’ll continue to do so. So that’s it for my cozy-chair reflections: we love you and good night. Serve in deep bowls and garnish with parsley. Makes four servings. Double the recipe and freeze for another meal. Excellent with Trillium’s Mediterranean Loaf and Upper Canada Old-fashioned breads. THE OSCAR l Page 27 JANUARY 2014 SECOND THOUGHTS Homeland Insecurity By Richard Ostrofsky Last month I wrote about the ‘striking continuities’ of Russian history, the land my father’s family came from, and where he grew up. This month I want to do the same for the United States, where I was born and raised – and where I went to school until I came to Canada as a young adult, to escape the draft and the Vietnam war. In US history, I can see four themes that have been definitive for the nation’s character. There is a national sense of moral superiority, a national sense of entitlement, and a pervasive contempt for ‘egghead intellectuals’ (like myself) who might question these national myths. And along with these three overt traits, as we’ll see, there has been a subtext of guilt and denial. As with Russia, the roots of these national traits also go back hundreds of years – almost to the beginnings of English colonization in the New World (at Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina) in 1585. Let us consider them in turn. Where the Spanish came to the New World looking for gold at first, and where the French came looking for furs, the English came mostly looking for land and for religious freedom. The northern states especially came to see their society as a shining “city upon a hill,” after a sermon preached by John Winthrop to the future colonists of Massachusets Bay, before their ship reached its shores. Their new world was supposed to be free from the sins and vices of the old. It was a land of opportunity where immigrants could forget their past encumbrances and make a fresh start. The hardships they had endured as pioneers, made them feel heroic. Forgetting their treatment of the native peoples and the reliance of Southern states on Negro slavery, with their English political institutions, they could feel moral. There was land and wealth for the taking, and no room for doubts of their entitlement. There was a ‘manifest destiny’ to take possession of the whole continent, of the whole hemisphere. When they reached the Pacific ocean, they saw no reason to stop. With all this opportunity, there was danger. On the frontier, the Indians were dangerous. In the South, there was the fear of slave revolts. Until the mid 19th century, there was a fear of European powers – of the Spanish, the French and, above all, the British, still the pre-eminent naval power, still in control of a very long northern frontier, who just might seek to undo the results of that recent War of Independence, and even the settlement of 1812. As late as 1861, there was a very real possibility that Britain, with its appetite for cotton, might enter the Civil War on the Confederate side. With all the wealth just lying there for anyone sufficiently bold, unscrupulous and hard-working, with all the threats and the opportunities, there was little need for artists and intellectuals. Though there were already world-class thinkers in the US by late 18th or early 19th century – Ben Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, to mention just three outstanding examples – even these men are more known for what they did than for what they thought. In May of 1780, well before the War of Independence had ended, John Adams explained the situation memorably: “I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine.” The arts and pure thought would arrive in due course. For at least two generations, practical studies had to be of higher priority. Lesser minds would put it more crudely: “If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?” In these terms, the contempt for intellectuals is understandable. Why the hostility? Here the economist Thomas Sowell has argued that “American anti-intellectualism can be traced to the early Colonial era, and that wariness of the educated upper-classes is understandable given that America was built, in large part, by people fleeing persecution and brutality at the hands of the educated upper classes. . . From its colonial beginnings, American society was a “decapitated” society—largely lacking the topmost social layers of European society. Except for some younger sons, the highest elites and the titled aristocracies had little reason to risk their lives crossing the Atlantic and then face the perils of pioneering. Most of the white population of colonial America arrived as indentured servants; most of the black people were brought or bred as slaves. Later waves of immigrants were disproportionately peasants and proletarians, even when they came from the relatively advanced countries of Western Europe. The rise of American society to pre-eminence as an economic, political and military power was thus the triumph of the common man and a slap across the face to the presumptions of the arrogant, whether an elite of blood or books.” ceptance at the breast he has most utFinally, there is a subtext of guilt: terly offended”. Having read Fiedler’s guilt that cannot be expiated nor essay, it is no longer possible to think even consciously acknowleged by of these classics with a straight face. the mainstream culture. DespoliaI have just finished watching a fivetion of the continent, destruction of hour series of documentaries, availthe aboriginal cultures, the history of able on YouTube (search there for slavery and racial discrimination, the the series title, Counterintelligence), ancient policy of gathering wealth about the history of US surveillance at home by exporting poverty and and covert action programs under drudgery to less fortunate nations, the CIA and all its similar agencies. keeping repressive regimes in power to get the nation’s fuel, raw materials It doesn’t show much that I can’t remember personally, from reading and every other commodity on the newspapers over the last fifty years, most favorable terms possible – such and reading between the lines as evils scarcely figure in the country’s needed. But in one concentrated dose, politics, and are rarely even menthe impact of the whole series is chilltioned. But they will not go away; ing, and the four traits described here and in the unconscious, they linger. are fully documented. In the long In 1948, Leslie Fiedler published a run they are clearly self-defeating, devastating essay, Come Back to the in the short run they are killing lots Raft Ag’in, Huck Honey!, arguing of people, and corrupting the whole that the covert theme of American world as they do so. literature has been a dream of recipReading over this piece before I rocated homoerotic love between a send it, it strikes me as excessively white man and colored man. His three bitter. There is, indeed, another side great examples are the relationship to the story that I want to acknowlof Natty Bumpo and Chingachgook edge before I close. There has also in The Last of the Mohicans, that been plenty of evil in the rest of the of Ishmael and Queequeg in Moby world, and plenty of good from the Dick, that of Huck and Nigger Jim United States. True. But there is this (“lying side by side on a raft born by dark side too that the world should the endless river toward an imposbe aware of, and that the US needs to sible escape”) in Huckleberry Finn. acknowledge and come to terms with The heart of the American dream, somehow. Fiedler shows, is a regressive, “implacable nostalgia for the infanRichard Ostrofsky’s Second tile,” the (white) American dream of Thoughts bookstore was a hub of boyhood, of “good clean fun” and conversation and contemplation in “self-congratulatory buddy-buddiness. “Our dark-skinned beloved will Old Ottawa South for many years. He continues to contribute to the OStake us in ... when we have been cut CAR from afar and would welcome off, or have cut ourselves off, from all others, without rancor or the insult feedback or conversation about his articles at reostrofsky@gmail.com. of forgiveness. He will fold us in Further essays and ruminations can his arms saying, “Honey” ... he will be found at www.secthoughts.com. comfort us, as if our offence against him were long ago remitted, were never truly real. The white American, says SUE RAVEN Fiedler, “dreams of his acPHYS IOTH ERAPY CLINIC OPEN MONDAY TO SATURDAY Continuing to help you recover from Come and Join B-TRAiN Swimming for our NEW 55+ PROGRAM! January 6 – April 14, 2014 Practice Times/Pricing: Monday 1:00-2:00 PM Friday 1:00-2:00 PM 1 swim/week: $175 2 swims/week: $300 All levels and abilities welcome! improve your flexibility, stroke, and endurance! www.btrainswimming.com Andrea Smith 613-424-2239 Pain, Weakness, Reduced Mobility Balance and Vestibular Problems Sports and Work Injuries Motor Vehicle Injuries Full Physiotherapy Services with Six (6) Physiotherapists - Massage Therapy (RMT) Acupuncture Ergonomics Home Visits 205-194 Main St., Ottawa K1S 1C2 Phone: 613-567-4808 Fax: 613-567-5261 www.sueravenphysio.com Page 28 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 CARLETON SPORTS Not Just Basketball: Carleton Athletes Do Well in Other Sports By Joe Scanlon With all the attention given to Carleton men’s basketball – which has won the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s championship nine times in the past 11 years – it’s easy to overlook other Carleton sports. Yet this fall Carleton produced a Canadian champion in rowing, an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship in another sport and a team which did well enough at the OUA championships to qualify for the Canadian championships. The rowing champion is Matthew Fournier. The provincial champions are the men’s water polo team. The team that qualified for the CIS championships is the women’s golf team. Rowing Carleton rower Matthew Fournier won the Canadian lightweight singles championship in a meet in Montreal – an achievement he hopes will give him a chance to become a member of Canada’s national team and – perhaps – to eventually qualify for the Olympics. Three members of the national under-23 team – a team Fournier was not selected for – were in the race he won. He said his win was sweeter because of that. “It felt good because there were a lot of national team people in the race, so I got to prove I’m right up there with them and I’m the same speed as some of the national guys.” Fournier’s skills do not come by chance. The Carleton coach – and Fournier’s long-time coach – is his father, Ed Fournier. Two other Carleton teams also performed well. The heavy men’s eight with Luc Baudouin, Dane Petersen, Bruce Laurich, Ian Smith, Luke Teeft, Mike Sullivan, Devon Sutherland, Nick Grondin and coxswain Matt Noel won the B final as did the women’s lightweight double of Alyssa Pastic and Anna Currie. Water Polo Recently, Carleton men and women – along with the University of Toronto – have dominated Ontario university water polo; and this year was no different. In the OUA championships at Toronto, the men defeated McMaster 13-2, York 16-7 and Western 8-3 to reach the gold medal final. In that final they defeated Toronto 7-6. Toronto actually led 2-0 after one period and 4-2 after two but in the third period Carleton – with goals by Rodrigo Rojas, Dusan Boskovic and Ognjen Gutovic – tied the score at 5-5. In the fourth and final period, Louis-Philipe Brousseau gave Carleton a 6-5 lead with 4:59 to go but Emre Tali scored for Toronto one minute later to tie it at six. Twentytwo seconds after that Boskovic got his second goal for Carleton. Neither team scored in the remaining three and one-half minutes. Boskovic was named the OUA championship most valuable player. Ravens’ netminder Benjamin Bouwer was named most valuable goalie and Carleton’s coach, Zoltan Csepregi was named coach of the year. Both Boskovic and Bouwer were also named OUA all-stars. The women also reached the gold medal game by defeating Queen’s 13-7 and Ottawa 9-4 but playing in Toronto they lost in the final 10-4 to the University of Toronto. Carleton and Toronto have shared the past seven Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women’s water polo championships with Carleton finishing second in 2011 but winning last season. In the women’s final, Toronto took a 2-1 lead in the first period, were up 5-3 after two and scored two unanswered goals in the third period to take a 7-3 lead. Toronto’s Stephanie Watson proved unstoppable: she scored once in the second period, once in the third twice in the fourth. Meaghan Broddy scored two of Carleton’s four goals. Women’s Golf Carleton’s women’s golf team finished fourth in the OUA championships – good enough to qualify the team for the Canadian championships next spring in Winnipeg. Two Carleton team members -- Samantha Coates and Sheila McKeen – were named second team all-stars. Coates shot 82-77 (159) to finish fifth and McKeen finished three shots behind (162) to finish eighth. The team is coached by Gail Blake, former associate director of athletics. Major Sports on Hold The major team sports – basketball and hockey – both take a breather from regular season competition over the holidays but they all swing into action again in January. Men’s Basketball The men’s team who ranked number one in Canada and are defending CIS champions are still undefeated this season against Canadian university opposition. They swept their eight games against teams in the OUA West then dumped # 2 – the University of Ottawa – 94-73 before a sell-out crowd of 1,600 at Carleton. The men were named as November team of the month in OUA athletics. The Ravens are on the road in early January but return for five games in eight days including a return match with Ottawa U – this one at the Canadian Tire Centre – on Tuesday, January 21st. The ravens are led by two broth- ers, Philip and Thomas Scrubb and by Tyson Hinz, now in his fourth and final season with the male Ravens. Philip Scrubb is the team’s top scorer – he averages 20.2 points per game. Thomas Scrubb is the top rebounder – 8.1 rebounds a game – and Hinz is a three way threat. He is second high in scoring – 14.2 a game, the team’s best three-point shooter and second only to Thomas Scrubb in rebounding. He is also third – behind the two Scrubb’s – in assists, a rare achievement for someone who usually plays under the basket. The ravens host the CIS championships at the Canadian Tire Centre in March, which guarantees them a spot no matter how they finish in the regular season and OUA playoffs. But when they have been host they have always qualified on merit allowing another Ontario team to be given the slot reserved for the host team. Women’s Basketball The women’s basketball team appeared in a building mode with seven rookies in the line-up, an appearance that should have been strengthened when Tauralee Tenn, a graduate student with US university experience, decided basketball was too demanding and when their only experienced inside player, Lindsey Suprunchuk was injured, was unable to finish a game against Brock and has not played since. So much for appearances! With one-third of the season over the women are tied for first with the University of Ottawa, after defeating Ottawa 60-55 in the final game of the fall regular season. During their pre-season and regular season schedule, they have had some one-sided losses but they have also defeated four top 10 teams -- # 2 Windsor, # 7 McGill, # 7 Brock (the rankings shown are what the team was ranked when they played Carleton) and # 8 Ottawa. Two of the rookies – McKenzie Sigurdson and Heather Lindsay – have emerged as stars. Sigurdson is the starting point guard which means she runs the offence, a demanding task for even an experienced player. Lindsay at 6’3” having to take over from the injured Suprunchuk is supposed to take care of rebounding. She has done that: she is second in rebounding to Lindsay Shotbolt and is third in scoring behind Elizabeth Roach, the team’s only senior and Shotbolt, the team’s only other injured returnee. Lindsay led the team in both scoring and rebounding in the game against Ottawa and did the same the week before in Carleton’s 61-46 win over Waterloo. Men’s Hockey The men’s hockey team is in sixth place – just half way up or down (whichever you prefer) in an 11-team league. They have a number of new players with Junior A experience and it takes time for these players to recognize that university hockey is a much higher level of hockey than Junior A. While the superstars – the Bobby Orr’s and Sydney Crosby’s – have moved on into pro hockey, the players who remain – and decide to go to university – are older and more experienced that players coming out of Junior A. Junior players average around age 18. University players average around 22 to 23. That is a major difference as well in physical development. The men swing back into action on Sunday, December 29th with a home game against the University of Toronto. Women’s Hockey The women’s hockey team continues to struggle. It opened the season with a win but since then has had 10 straight losses three of them in overtime. It is in last place in the five team Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) women’s hockey league, one point behind Concordia, the only team it has defeated. In the final regular season game before the Christmas break, the women scored two goals in the first couple of minutes and added a third before the University of Ottawa replied with three straight goals and went on to win in a shoot-out. January Schedule Women’s and Men’s Basketball Friday and Saturday, January 17 and 18 – Ryerson and Toronto at Carleton Tuesday, January 21 – Carleton plays Ottawa at Canadian Tire Centre Friday, January 24 and 25 – Queen’s and York at Carleton (The women play at six p.m., the men about eight p.m.) Women’s Hockey Saturday, January 11 – 2 p.m. – McGill at Carleton Saturday, January 18 – 2 p.m. McGill at Carleton Sunday, January 19 – 2 p.m. – Concordia at Carleton Men’s Hockey Friday, January 3 – 7 p.m. – McGill at Carleton Saturday, January 4 – 7 p.m. – Ottawa at Carleton Saturday, January 11 – 7 p.m. – Royal Military College at Carleton Friday, January 24 – 7 p.m. – Queen’s at Carleton Saturday, January 25 – 7 p.m. – University of Ontario Institute of Technology at Carleton THE OSCAR l Page 29 JANUARY 2014 CUSA PRESIDENT’S REPORT A Holiday Message from the Carleton University Students’ Association By Alexander Golovko, CUSA President Carleton University is home to close to 27,000 students and it is my pleasure as the President of the Carleton University Students’ Association to represent a significant portion of this exceptional group for a second term in a row. The last eight months have been a busy time for CUSA as we continue to work hard to deliver on a better Carleton for all students and the Carleton community. This year’s executive team is a wonderful mix of experience and leadership. The executive is made up of myself, Folarin Odunayo - Vice President Finance, Gina Parker - Vice President Student Issues, Reda Zarrug - Vice President Student Services, Hayley Dobson - Vice President Student Life and Maher Jebara - Vice President Internal. We are working tirelessly to ensure that CUSA represents students proudly to the greater Carleton community. Our focus this year, is to reconnect with the greater City of Ottawa community and show our city just what amazing talents Carleton University students have to offer! CUSA is Taking the Lead on Affordable Education This past month CUSA, in collaboration with Carleton University, have created the CUSA Bursary Fund. The Fund will help fund a minimum of ten students every year for as long as Carleton exists. Recipients of the bursary must have demonstrated financial need along with experience working with the Carleton community. The $212,000 contribution represents one of the largest student led donations to a university financial support fund. It is a demonstration of CUSA’s continuing desire to be leaders amongst student associations across Canada and it shows our commitment to helping reduce the cost of post-secondary education. CUSA Is Helping Student Entrepreneurs In the new year, under the leadership of Folarin Odunayo, Vice President Finance, CUSA will be launching a Start Up Incubator program on our campus aiming to develop and help local student entrepreneurs achieve their goals in business. This program will help drive the entrepreneurial spirit in the community and build local talent. Old Ottawa South is home to many great entrepreneurs and innovators and we would love if in the coming months some of them would share their stories and experiences with future generations of leaders, as well as help develop and foster a unique and exciting environment of innovation for students and the community at large. CUSA Is Lobbying for Affordable Transit CUSA is working hard to make education affordable for everyone regardless of age. That is why we are working to eliminate the current age cap imposed on student bus passes. As it stands right now, only students under the age of 19 qualify for student bus passes. This means for the thousands of part time students who do not qualify for the U-Pass are left stranded and are forced to pay standard adult rates. As a result of this policy, CUSA has partnered together with all the other student associations across the City of Ottawa to lobby our City Council to reverse this decision. We have received sup- port from many in the community, including our own Councillor David Chernushenko. As always, we need and appreciate your support so please contact myself or Gina Parker, Vice President Student Issues, and more importantly, get in touch with your city councillor. It is initiatives like these that make me proud to say that I am the President of the Carleton University Students’ Association but more importantly that I am a member of our community. We are a diverse and hard working group that are always striving to be active in the community so that we can highlight the amazing work done by our students. On behalf of CUSA I would like to wish you a happy and safe holidays and New Year! If you have questions, comments or require more information please contact me at 613-5206688 ext 1603, pres@cusaonline. ca.or @alexandrgolovko THE CARLETON CORNER Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was at Carleton University on Dec. 5 to officially open the newly-renovated and expanded MacOdrum Library. The Government of Ontario contributed $16 million to the $27-million project. Premier Wynne was joined by Minister of Labour Yasir Naqvi, as well as Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson for the official ceremony. The project, which began two years ago, includes 34,700 square feet of renovations. The west expansion is a two-storey addition of 45,700 square feet, and the east addition is five storeys totalling 28,500 square feet. The amount of student seating has also doubled and there are now 2,000 seats. Recently, the library’s archives and research collections (ARC) obtained a prestigious new addition donated by former prime minister Joe Clark and his wife, Maureen McTeer. Through hundreds of pages of speeches, campaign materials, and radio and television interviews, the collections they donated will shed new light on a variety of topics – including women’s rights, politics, and major Canadian historical events like the Charlottetown Accord. McTeer and Clark, who received honorary degrees from Carleton University in 2010, donated the collection in late 2013. On Thursday, Dec. 12, Carleton University celebrated the opening of Carleton Entrepreneurs, a campuswide venture accelerator that will help Carleton students and recent graduates from all faculties and program levels to launch and grow successful businesses. The goal for each venture in the accelerator is to generate $1 million in three years by creating six or more jobs in the region. The Carleton Entrepreneurs accelerator will help students and recent graduates turn their ideas into successful ventures by providing them with training, knowledge, mentorship and support. It will achieve this by helping these entrepreneurs to: • • • • Develop business models that are stronger than their competitors’; Reduce the risk of globalizing their ventures early and rapidly; Significantly reduce the time to become profitable by taking advantage of the training, mentorship and networking opportunities available; and Develop clear and compelling value propositions and present them effectively to attract the resources they require Premier Wynne at the grand opening of the newly renovated and expanded MacOdrum Library at Carleton University. PHOTO BY THE PREMIER’S OFFICE As part of its overall commitment to sustainability Carleton is ensuring that all new construction and major renovations are assessed against the Green Globes Rating system and will achieve at minimum a rating of 3 out of 5. What is Green Globes? The Green Globes system is an internationally recognized, third party, certification and building environmental design and management tool. It allows an evaluation against such factors as: project management, energy consumption, site use, space and water optimization, and waste management. Carleton Corner is written by Carleton University’s Department of University Communications. As your community university, Carleton hosts many exciting events of interest to Old Ottawa South. For more information about upcoming events, please go to carleton.ca/events. Page 30 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 FINANCIAL PLANNING Resolutions to Live By Provided by Linda M. Hancock, Investors Group Financial Services Inc. This is the resolution time of year – and we make all kinds of them, from resolving to lose weight to taking up a new hobby. And even though we have the best of intentions, most of our resolutions eventually fall by the wayside. But here is a set of important resolutions for your consideration to make and keep – because, taken together, they can give you a financially secure life. ‘I resolve to be budget aware.’ Look critically at your income and expenses. Set a realistic monthly budget that includes a specific amount for savings. ‘I resolve to be debt aware.’ Stay on top of your debt by using expensive credit cards sensibly and paying high-interest and non-deductible debt first. ‘I resolve to be life aware.’ Define your life and goals in relation to your income and set enough aside regularly to reach your goals. ‘I resolve to be RRSP aware.’ Make the most of the best tax-deferred savings builder for most Canadians – start making contributions to investments held within an RRSP early and make your maximum yearly contributions. You’ll save on taxes and maximize the growth potential of your investments within an RRSP. ‘I resolve to be tax aware.’ Take advantage of every applicable tax deduction and tax credit – including the easily overlooked ones like moving expenses, child-care expenses, tuition fees, medical expenses and charitable donations. ‘I resolve to be investment aware.’ Be a tax-efficient investor. Hold investments earning tax-advantaged investment income – those that return dividends or capital gains – outside your RRSP and highertaxed interest-earning investments inside your tax-deferred RRSP. ‘I resolve to be insurance aware.’ Your need for income protection and estate planning will change as your life changes – be sure your insurance keeps pace. ‘I resolve to be asset allocation aware.’ Sustain the steady, longterm growth of your investments through a solid portfolio asset allocation plan that includes the right balance of assets from the three asset categories – cash, fixed income investments and equities. ‘I resolve to be plan aware.’ Take all these fi- nancial security resolutions and wrap them into a consolidated plan that will become your essential framework for achieving all your financial and life goals. Oh, and one more easy-to-keep resolution that will pay big, and continuing, dividends for you: Get the expert help of a professional advisor to develop the financial plan that works best for you. This column, written and published by Investors Group Financial Services Inc. (in Québec – a Financial Services Firm), and Investors Group Securities Inc. (in Québec, a firm in Financial Planning) presents general information only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell any investments. Contact your own advisor for specific advice about your circumstances. For more information on this topic please contact Linda at Linda.Hancock@ Investorsgroup.com. Are You Prepared for the Unexpected? By Bob Jamieson account. When you’re working to achieve your financial objectives, you will encounter obstacles. Some of these can be anticipated — for example, you won’t be able to invest as much as you want for retirement because you have to pay for your mortgage. Other challenges can’t be easily anticipated, but you can still plan for them — and you should. Obviously, the word “unexpected,” by definition, implies an unlimited number of possibilities. However, at different stages of your life, you may want to watch for some “expected” unexpected developments. For example, during your working years, be prepared for the following: Investment Risk And Market Volatility Extreme price swings are unpredictable, and they can affect your investment success. To defend yourself against fluctuations in the market, build a diversified portfolio containing quality investments. While diversification, by itself, can’t protect against loss or guarantee profits, it can help reduce the effect of volatility on your portfolio. And here’s one more thing you can do to cope with the ups and downs of investing: Maintain a long-term perspective. By doing so, you won’t be tempted to overreact to short-term downturns. Emergency Expenses - If you needed a major car or home repair, could you handle it? What about a temporary job loss? These events are costly — especially if you are forced to dip into your long-term investments to pay for them. To help guard against these threats, try to build an emergency fund containing 3 to 6 months’ worth of living expenses, or more, held in a liquid, low-risk Long-Term Disability - One-third of all people between the ages of 30 and 64 will become disabled at some point, according to the Health Insurance Association of America. Disabilities can be economically devastating. As part of your benefits package, your employer may offer some disability insurance, but you may need to supplement it with private coverage. Premature Death - None of us can really predict our longevity. If something happens to you, would your family be able to stay in your home? Could your children still attend college? To protect these goals, you need adequate life insurance. As you approach retirement, and during your retirement years, you may want to focus on these challenges: Living Longer Than Expected - You probably don’t think that “living longer than expected” is necessarily a bad thing. However, a longer-thananticipated life span also carries with it the risk of outliving your money. Consequently, you may want to consider investment solutions that can provide you with an income stream that you can’t outlive. Also, you’ll need to be careful about how much you withdraw each year from your various retirement and investment accounts. Need For Long-Term Care - If you had to stay a few years in a nursing home, the cost could mount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. These expenses could jeopardize your financial security, so you’ll need to protect yourself. You could “self-insure,” but as that would be extremely costly, so you may want to “transfer the risk” to an insurance company. A financial professional can help explain your choices. None of us can foresee all the events in our lives. But in your role as an investor, you can at least take positive steps to prepare for the unexpected — and those steps should lead you in the right direction as you move toward your important goals. If you would like to review how some of these developments could affect you, give me a call at 613-526-3030 and I would be pleased to review your situation. Edward Jones: Member – Canadian Investor Protection Fund THE OSCAR l Page 31 JANUARY 2014 FINANCIAL PLANNING Your Investment Policy Statement By Rick Sutherland, CLU, CFP, FDS, R.F.P Welcome to 2014! We thought we would begin the year with a suggestion for a New Year’s Resolution. Establish your personal Investment Policy Statement, or IPS. An IPS is a document that puts in writing a number of parameters that you and your investment professional will follow regarding how your investment account is managed. It gives you a direction on how to invest your hard-earned dollars and eliminates the temptation to rely on “hot tips” or follow the recommendation of friends and relatives. Your Investment Policy Statement spells out the reasons why you are investing. It outlines what you are hoping to gain from your investing endeavours and when those gains should materialize. By reviewing your IPS regularly, you can confirm whether you are on track to meeting your goals or whether you may have to make some adjustments. Your IPS acts like a rudder on a ship. It guides you through both the calm as well as the rough waters, and it keeps you headed in the right direction. It helps you ignore the day-today market turbulence and to avoid making emotional decisions that may otherwise turn out to be mistakes. Your Investment Policy Statement need not be elaborate. A simple IPS will allow you and your planner to analyze your progress in an easily understandable format. There may also be a need for more than one IPS for investments with different objectives. Your IPS will reflect your commitment in terms of the dollars you are www.edwardjones.com WEALTH MANAGEMENT Helping you make sense of wealth management strategies In your neighbourhood Call or visit your local Edward Jones advisor to help you determine the appropriate wealth management solutions for your family: •Wealth Preservation •Business Succession Planning •Charitable Giving prepared to put aside on a regular basis. This could be a monthly or weekly contribution, whatever suits you best. Your Investment Policy Statement may spell out an asset allocation policy for your investment account. “Your IPS will reflect your commitment in terms of the dollars you are prepared to put aside on a regular basis. This could be a monthly or weekly contribution, whatever suits you best.” Rather than setting hard-and-fast rules, you may want to set ranges for different asset classes. It may look something like this: 5-10% cash, 2030% fixed income, 60-75% equities. Of course each of these asset classes can be broken down into sub-categories, such as short- and long-term fixed income and Canadian, US and International equities. Once you’ve established an asset allocation strategy, you and your planner can make an estimate of returns. Historical averages for your chosen asset allocation will help in choosing a projected rate of return. You must be prepared at all times for contingencies and be prepared to make adjustments. One area to be cautious is regarding your personal risk profile. Most investors judge themselves as having a very high tolerance for risk when markets are going up, and as conservative investors when markets are going down. Ask yourself what you would do if you received a statement and your investments were down 10%, 20%, or maybe even 30% or more. Would you sell everything, do nothing, or invest more? The answer to this question gives great insight into your risk profile. It is not easy to draft an IPS. The best course of action is to work with your trusted financial planner. Reaching out for advice may be one of the best decisions you can make when it comes to developing your personal IPS. Rick Sutherland has been a resident of OOS since 1985 and has been a regular contributor to OSCAR since 1991. The foregoing is for general information purposes and is the opinion of the writer. This information is not intended to provide personal advice including, without limitation, investment, financial, legal, accounting or tax advice. Please call or write to Rick Sutherland CLU, CFP, FDS, R.F.P., to discuss your particular circumstances or suggest a topic for future articles at 613798-2421 or E-mail rick@investedinterest.ca. Rent, the epic Broadway rock-opera, will kickoff Sock ‘n’ Buskin’s 70th Anniversary Season on January 16. The show runs January 16-18, 23-25, 8:00pm nightly in Kailash Mital Theatre in Southam Hall at Carleton University. Tickets: $10 for Students/ Seniors, $15 General Admission. Tickets are available at the door or through snbreservations@gmail.com (Please note: seating is first-come first-served). •Estate Planning •Investment Management •And more Edward Jones, its employees and Edward Jones advisors are not estate planners and cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult a qualified tax specialist or lawyer for professional advice regarding your specific situation. Bob Jamieson, CFP® Financial Advisor . 2211 Riverside Drive Suite 100 Ottawa, ON K1H 7X5 613-526-3030 PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING Are you uncertain about achieving your financial goals? Call today for your free, confidential, second opinion. RICK SUTHERLAND, CLU, CFP, FDS, R.F.P. 1276 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1Y 3A7 613-798-2421 email: rick@invested-interest.ca web: www.invested-interest.ca Mutual funds provided through FundEX Investments Inc. MKT-7690-C-AD Member – Canadian Investor Protection Fund Page 32 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 SUNNYSIDE LIBRARY PROGRAMS Sunnyside Branch Ottawa Public Library 1049 Bank Street, Ottawa 613-730-1082, Adult Services, extension 22 Children’s Services, extension 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.) January 14 to February 18 Toddlertime For toddlers and a parent or caregiver with stories, rhymes, songs and games. Ages 18-35 months. Registration is Required. Choose only one of the two options below: Tuesdays, 10:15 a.m. (30 min.) Session 1: January 14 to February 18 OR Thursdays, 10:15 a.m. (30 min.) Session 1: January 16 to February 20 Family Storytime Stories, rhymes and songs for preschoolers and a parent or caregiver. Ages 3-6. Drop In. Mondays, 2:15 a.m. (30 min.) January 13 to February 17 Family Storytime (Bilingual) Stories, rhymes and songs for preschoolers, toddlers and a parent or caregiver. Drop In. Contes, rimes et chansons pour les enfants préscolaires, les tout-petits et un parent ou gardien.. Wednesdays 10:15 a.m. (30 min.) / mercredi 10h15 January 15 to February 19 / le 15 janvier au 19 février Children’s Book Clubs Mother-Daughter Book Club Ages 7-9 A place for girls and the special women in their lives to share books. Registration. Mondays, 7:00 p.m. (60 min.): January 13, February 3 Mother-Daughter Book Club Ages 10-12 A place for girls and the special women in their lives to share books. Registration. Mondays, 7:00 p.m. (60 min.): January 20, February 10 Guysread Share the love of books. For boys and a significant adult. Ages 8-12. Registration. Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. (60 min.): January 29, February 26 Children’s Special Programs Game on! Roll the dice, pick a suit or grab a nunchuk! Come play cards, board games or Wii with us! Ages 6-12. Drop in anytime Friday afternoon to play. Friday, January 3, 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. Teen Programs TAG (Teen Advisory Group) (Ongoing Event) 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. Look for Teen Programs presented by Teens: such as Peer Tutoring plus Drop in Board Game & Card Game nights. Meet once a month on Saturdays at 1:30 p.m.: January 11, February 8 TBC (Teen Book Club) Love YA fiction? Come check out Sunnyside’s latest book club for Teens – you pick the author, theme or title, we all read a book and meet to discuss what we liked (or didn’t like). Usually the first Friday of the month. Ages 12-15. Registration. Fridays, 4:00 pm (60 min.): January 10, February 7 Exam Cram / Études intensives Need a spot to cram for exams? Come to the library and get your studying done. We provide a quiet study space between 10 am and 6 pm in our Meeting Room (downstairs, past the Children’s Area), complete with WiFi access. Study hard and good luck on your exams! January 24-January 31, 10-6 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 worksin-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.): January 6, February 24, March 17, April 14, May 26, June 16 Ukrainian Conversation Join our group led by a fluent Ukrainian speaker. Start off with a review of the Ukrainian alphabet. All are welcome. Registration. Mondays, 7:00 pm (60 min.): January 13, 27, February 10, March 10, 24, April 7, 28, May 5, June 2, 23 Conversations Among Canadians These weekly sessions are an opportunity to convene or participate in “conversations among Canadians.” There is much to be gained from simply sharing information with each other, and bringing together our knowledge, our personal experience and our reflections. Talking together, we might also challenge our imaginations, generating insights and developing ideas to share with each other and inspiring inventions and innovations toward helpful change in our world. Topics will include the environment, humanity, communication, science and technology and our changing brains. Registration. Wednesdays, 2:00 - 4:00 pm (120 min.): January 29 - June 18 Science Café 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.): January 8, 22, February 12, 26, March 12, 26, April 9, 23 Conversation en français Improve your spoken French and meet new friends in a relaxed setting. Intermediate level required. Registration. Thursdays, 6:00 pm (60 min.): January 9– June 26 OR Thursdays, 7:15 pm (60 min.): January 9– June 26 Passionate Pursuits A new monthly program highlighting the passionate pursuits of adults. In January, Navin Parekh will speak to us about his work with CanUgan. Volunteering in Uganda, Navin noted that disabled people had no means of getting about. Coming back to Ottawa, he went to work on the problem, arranging for the manufacture, in Uganda, of hand-pedaled tricycles and supply of other assistive devices. He has founded a charity, CanUgan Disability Support, and the whole idea is spreading. In February, Anne Joyce will speak about her experiences volunteering abroad. Registration. Wednesday, 2:00 pm (60 min.): January 22: Navin Parekh; February 19: Anne Joyce Adult Special Programs Posture Perfect Most of us don’t realize it but posture is a window into our health. Good posture is associated with better breathing, better digestion, greater self-esteem and a more energetic body. Dr. Chandan Brar of the Glebe Chiropractic Clinic will share some insight on posture, its connection to health and what we can do to start improving our posture. Registration. Thursday, January 9, 6:30 – 7:30 pm Canvas Art Workshop Participants will create a canvas art frame involving painting, stamping and collage. Presented by Julie Olivier who has been making and selling cards and paper art frames for the past 10 years, and has also been teaching paper crafts for the past 3 years. Registration. Thursday, January 16, 6:30 -8:30 pm Basic Digital Photo Editing It is easy to take dozens or hundreds of photos with your digital camera. But then what? Chris Taylor, President of the Ottawa PC Users’ Group will help you discover some easy ways of correcting basic flaws so you will be proud to display your photos. Registration. Thursday, January 23, 6:15 8:15 pm Introduction to Wood Turning Learn all about this craft beginning with an overview of the history of wood turning beginning in Egyptian times up to the present, followed by an explanation of the tools used, aspects of wood, along with some examples of what can be created. Presented by Lawrence Riley. Registration. Thursday, January 30, 6:30 -8:00 pm Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Health Physical inactivity is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, i.e. heart attack or stroke. Given that most of us are sedentary for approximately 70% of the waking day, many of us are at risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Being physically active can help to regulate blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and obesity, all of which impact heart health. Join us to learn more about how physical activity can benefit cardiovascular health. Presented by Graham Beaton, Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. Registration. Thursday, February 6, 7:00 – 8:00 pm Nutrition Secrets Is coffee good for you? Are eggs bad for you? No, fat is the real enemy...right? The problem with ideal dietary recommendations is that there is no such thing as the ideal person. You might be surprised how industry recommendations for certain foods are dramatically different than what research shows. Presented by Dr. Chandan Brar of the Glebe Chiropractic Clinic. Registration. Thursday, February 13, 6:30 – 7:30 pm The Beauty of South Africa and Namibia Discover Namibia’s majestic sand dunes, and the proud people who live there, combine this with the beauty of South Africa, Nelson Mandela’s homeland with world traveler, Carole THE OSCAR l Page 33 JANUARY 2014 SUNNYSIDE LIBRARY PROGRAMS Gobeil. Registration. Thursday, February 20, 6:30 – 8:00 pm Clicking, Flicking and Tweeting: Social Networking Controversy The explosion of social networking websites such as Flickr, Facebook, blogging sites and Twitter has raised more than privacy concerns. Join Chris Taylor of the Ottawa PC Users’ Group for a discussion on the value of social media sites, as well as cautions about using these tools so that you don’t compromise your computer, your job, your identity, or worse. Registration. Thursday, February 27, 6:15 – 8 :15 pm Adult Book Clubs Cercle de lecture Partagez avec nous le plaisir des livres dans une ambiance détendue. Projet de critique littéraire pour janvier, février et mars. Les mardis, 18h30 (90 min.): 28 janvier, 25 février, 25 mars, 29 avril, 27 mai, 24 juin European Book Club The European Book Club is a cooperation of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) in Ottawa: the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Goethe Institute, the Romanian Cultural Institute, the Instituto Camoes of Portugal and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland. The EBC aims to promote European authors and their works. A book title from an EU country is selected for discussion each month. Registration. January title: In the Times of Fading Light by Eugen Ruge (Germany) Wednesdays, 6:00 pm (120 min.): January 15, February 19, March 19, April 16, May 21, June 18 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. Registration. January title: The Book of Fame by Lloyd Jones Fridays, 2:00 pm (60 min.): January 10, February 14, March 14, April 11, May 9, June 13 Mystery Book Club Do you enjoy reading mysteries? Share the enjoyment of good mysteries in a relaxed atmosphere. Join us for discussion every third Friday of the month. Registration. January title: The Incense Game by Laura Joh Rowland Fridays, 2:00 pm (60 min.): January 17, February 21, March 21, May 16, June 20 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. January title: Requiem by Frances Itani Fridays, 2:00 pm (60 min.): January 31, February 28, March 28, April 25, May 30 BOOK REVIEW The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey Reviewed by Bess Fraser Hélène Merritt, late children’s librarian at the Sunnyside Library, recommended a book to me last summer. It was beautiful and I loved it. I believe it could be called historical fiction, written from the perspective of a woman pioneer. The description of the woods, surrounding nature and animal habitat is magical. Ivey’s writing style is poetic and dreamlike, as I read the book I could not tell if the story could have been true or not, it was captivating. The tale about setting up a farm, preparing the land and home with her husband seems accurate to the time. Parallel to this is the fairy tale running throughout the story, troubling but tempting at the same time. I have read few books with such vivid descriptions of nature and loved them as much. When I am not spending time outside, I at least like to read about the forest, sky and animals. AROUND TOWN Ukrainian Craft Group. Will meet Jan.17, Feb.21, March 14 at Abbotsford House, 950 Bank St., 1-3 pm, to knit the Ukrainian way and make pysanky (Easter eggs). Englishlanguage instruction, everyone welcome. Rent, the epic Broadway rock-opera, will kick off Sock ‘n’ Buskin’s 70th Anniversary Season on January 16, 2014. The show runs January 16-18, 23-25, 8:00pm nightly in Kailash Mital Theatre in Southam Hall at Carleton University. Tickets: $10 for Students/Seniors, $15 General Admission. Tickets are available at the door or through snbreservations@ gmail.com (Please note: seating is first-come first-served). New mixed-media paintings by Helene Lacelle, Dec.10 - Jan.31, at Carmen’s Veranda, 1169 Bank St. “The Sky Is NOT Falling ::: Sure there is a wild jungle of debris over our heads, way up in the sky, everything that goes up will eventually come back down. Will the sky one day fall on our heads, yes - no - maybe? My skies stay up, stay pretty, stay and never ever come down... Hopewell Avenue Public School Kindergarten Registration Period is Jan 27 – 31 at the School Office. OSCAR DELIVERERS NEEDED - Please contact Distribution Manager Larry Ostler 1) The block including the south side of Hopewell, west side of Grosvenor, north side of Glen, east side of Leonard (48 papers). 2) The block including the north side of Chesley, west side of Harvard, south side of Raleigh and east sides of Wendover and Warrington, and the triangle including the north side of Raleigh, west side of Harvard and the east side of Warrington (a total of 26 papers). email larryostler@gmail.com or phone 613-327-9080 Page 34 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 CLASSY ADS CLASSY ADS are free for Old Ottawa South residents (except for businesses or for business activity) and must be submitted by email to oscar@oldottawasouth.ca by the deadline. Your name and contact information (phone number or email address) must be included. Only your contact info will appear unless you specify otherwise. The editor retains the right to edit or exclude submissions. The OSCAR takes no responsibility for items, services or accuracy. For business advertising inquiries, call 613-7301058 or email oscarads@oldottawasouth.ca. For Sale House For Sale. Three stories with a finished basement and third floor, on Bellwood Ave between Sunnyside and Belmont. It has three bedrooms and two full bathrooms and a mature garden ready to bloom in the spring. We are flexible on a closing date. Call 613-9152421 for more information. ----------------------------------Wanted Looking for a piano teacher in Old Ottawa South, beginning September 2014. Call 613-940-4441. Childcare Childcare/ Nanny-share Available in Old Ottawa South. We have a highly experienced, bilingual caregiver who works out of our home in Old Ottawa South-Rideau Gardens. She cares for our 3-year-old son. Hours are from 8am to 5pm. Activities include playgroups, museums, swimming, crafts, library and trips to local parks. We are interested in finding another family would like to share our caregiver in our home. If you are interested contct: Benbasu2@hotmail.com or 613-237-1378. For Rent Three-bedroom apartment. Available January 1. Ground floor of a bungalow with bright and spacious living room, fully loaded kitchen and laundry facilities onsite, basement and exterior storage, laneway parking, and private fenced-in backyard. Located in a quiet area near Bank & Heron, walking distance to buses, transitway (Heron station) & O-train (Confederation), and close to Billings Bridge Mall. Rent is $1,300 including heat and water. Please reply by BEAM or call Moe at 613296-3443. --------------------------------House for Rent. 3 bedroom house for rent in OOS. 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room, finished basement. Fridge, stove, washer & dryer. 5 minutes walk from Carleton U. Available Jan $1900+utilities. No smokers please. 613-730-0206 --------------------------------Light-filled 2 bedroom apartment on the top floor of a duplex for rent in Old Ottawa South. This well maintained unit includes a private south facing balcony overlooking a treed yard, eat-in kitchen, hardwood floors. Approx. 1000 sq. ft. No smoking please. $1500 + utilities + parking. Available immediately. Please e-mail: Sunnyside8888@gmail.com or call 613-914-6573 for more information. MARKETPLACE GIBBON’S PAINTING & DECORATING Local House Painter - Bonded With 20 years experience Customer satisfaction ALWAYS GUARANTEED For a free estimate please call Rory 322-0109 Ask about my $25 referral rebate Book now for your painting needs Music Therapy RELIABLE QUALITY CARE Therapeutic use of Music Autism & Dementia Intellectual Challenges Stress Relief & Healing Emotional struggles Retired RPN . Relief for Family Caregiver . Private Duty . Palliative Care Provider www.DeepSoulSinging.com Telephone: 613-829-1556 EXTRA-MILE RENOVATIONS Beautiful Decks, Fences, Gates & Porches. Quality Bathrooms & Kitchens. We also do trim work, plumbing, electric, installation of doors & fixtures. Local Renovator. Creative Solutions. References. Please call for an estimate 613-297-8079 M.Moynahan Home: 613-730-4957 AVAILABLE: English tutoring for Academic Purposes ESL teacher based in OOS available for help with academic writing (proof-reading for grammar, punctuation; critical feedback on content, etc.) from high school to university levels. For more details, please call 613-237-7894 or email caroline@speakingwell.ca ADVERTISE in the OSCAR THE OSCAR l Page 35 JANUARY 2014 LOCAL NEWS 100 Years Young in Old Ottawa South By Lida Malinowski O Viola ... won’t you dance with me. We’ll cut that rug, and drink lots of tea ... and live to one hundred and three! On December 7th, 2013, Viola Terrade, a resident of Hopewell Avenue since 1965, celebrated her 100th birthday. What an eventful oncein-a-lifetime milestone! The party room at the Westwood on Carling Avenue was filled with close to 50 family members, friends, and neighbours, all extending their best wishes. The guest of honour (most know her as “Vi”) looked lovely in her periwinkle dress and pink carnation corsage. Although Vi was a bit shy to receive all this attention, she was graceful and greeted everyone with a smile, and a kind word. She was especially pleased to see so many of her Hopewell Avenue neighbours join in the celebration. The party was tastefully catered the room was filled with balloons, paper napkins, and a delicious cake, all inscribed with 100, a fulsome, well-rounded number. Many people remarked that this had been their first invitation to a 100th birthday party. Being a centenarian is deserving of special attention. Vi received commemorative congratulatory wishes from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Governor General, and The Prime Minister of Canada. Mayor Jim Watson asked Councillor Katherine Hobbs to personally present a plaque to Mrs. Terrade, to acknowledge her 100th birthday. The Mayor’s Office also presented Viola with an illustrated book of the City of Ottawa. After everyone had ample time to speak with her, socialize, and enjoy a bite, Vi did the honours, and cut the cake for everyone to enjoy. As you can imagine, 100 candles to blow out could potentially set off the fire alarm, and cause pandemonium among the residents at the Westwood, so although 100 years was proudly displayed on the cake, the sparklers were not lit as a precautionary measure. Over the years, many Old Ottawa South residents would have walked by her Hopewell Avenue home as they hurried to Brewer Park with their children; some stopped to chat with her while walking their dog, or when taking a stroll around the neighbourhood. Vi would often sit on the front porch in her white wicker chair, and take in all that was happening on the street. She would wave to passersby, with a smile and twinkle in her eye. During some of our porch chats she would reminisce about how her father had raised horses, and also bred canaries. She was proud to have raised three boys, and now has the lively company of 4 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. One of the highlights she remembers fondly to this day is a train trip from Calgary to Victoria, with her grandson Kevin, who was six years old at the time. Vi would recount how she had lived in Centretown with her two brothers in her younger years (she was the middle child), and how she enjoyed riding the streetcar. While working at a confectionary store on Lyon Street, she met her future husband, John Terrade. Vi related how her husband had worked in Windsor during the War, as an inspector at the Ford plant, where they built army vehicles. Viola worked in the candy department at Freiman’s Department Store on Rideau Street. She later worked in the cafeteria at the Bank of Montreal on Wellington Street, and retired after working there for many years. She sighed a bit when she told me that they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on September 30, 1989, but that sadly, one year later, Mr. Terrade passed away. After that, she shared the Viola Terrade with her 100th birthday congratulations from Her Majesty, house on Hopewell Avenue with her 1 12/12/13 10:58 PM Queen Elizabeth PHOTO BY LIDA MALINOWSKI son Don up until August of 2013, at GMSGarfieldNewmanAd3.pdf which time a change in her health brought her to the Westwood. Viola’s 100 years have been filled with many colourful memories, and recollections of good old fashioned “porch chats” with neighbours. She hopes Old Ottawa South will keep its porches, so neighbours take time to stop and chat awhile. The secret to longevity, according to Vi, is to drink tea (not a drop of alcohol, except the wine at church service). Vi said she was lucky to be born with good genes and “long lifers” in the family. Her grandmother lived to 103! C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Lida Malinowski is retired from the federal government, and a long time resident of Old Ottawa South. “Join OSCA” visit www.oldottawasouth.ca Page 36 THE OSCAR l JANUARY 2014 TRAVEL - SEE BEACHES STORY ON PAGE 20 Following the kelp trail at Albert Head Lagoon. PHOTO BY PAIGE RAYMOND 159 Gilmour Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0N8 ~ www.tracyarnett.com ~ 613-233-4488 This is not intended to solicit properties already listed for sale
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