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The Review.ca Wednesday, April 13, 2011 3 Trillium grants total $473,000 for local area, include curling club, splash pad VANKLEEK HILL – Community organiza- tions in the Glengarry-Prescott-Russell area will benefit from $473,000 in Ontario Trillium Foundation grants this year, including the Van- kleek Hill Curling Club and a splash pad in St- Isidore Park. e local grants are part of $2.5 million in OTF grants awarded to 50 non-profit and char- itable organizations in eastern Ontario, includ- ing Ottawa, to expand social programs, develop literacy and work skills, and improve commu- nity facilities. “OTF funding helps new and more es- tablished groups to grow stronger and ensure that the interests and needs of local residents are served in their communities,” said Sandra Lalonde, chair of the OTF grant review team for the Champlain region. “Behind each grant is a commitment to community growth and de- velopment.” e Vankleek Hill Curling Club will re- ceive $40,000 over one year to help fund ren- ovations to the club’s facility, which will make the building fully accessible to seniors and peo- ple with physical disabilities. An accessible washroom and automatic doors will be added to a new addition, and a lift will be installed to provide access to the main building. “e main thing is that it’s very hard for people with poor mobility to get into the club,” explained club president Murray Allen. “e washrooms are downstairs, and another very small one upstairs, and we needed a washroom that’s accessible to people with disabilities. So we’re putting washrooms upstairs, wheelchair accessible, as well as a wheelchair lift.” e building’s new addition will be located on the east side of the club, meaning the door will be accessible from the parking lot. e ad- dition will contain the new washrooms, and will effectively replace the existing portion of the building between the ice and the reception hall. Allen noted the club purchased a new ice plant last year and will take advantage of the renovation period to coordinate its installation at the same time. “We will be removing the [addition] that is there now, and building one a little longer and wider,” he said. “It will serve as the entrance to the club and for the new ice plant.” e work is expected to begin this week and will take about six weeks to complete. It will not interfere with the regular use of the club, however, as the power comes from a separate source. “We’re ready to go, we have all our plans done and our contractors are ready to start,” Al- len said. “Our club is used a lot by senior people,” he added, explaining it is rented by the bridge club as well as for anniversaries, birthdays, and fu- neral receptions. “It will be quite an advantage to our club. I’m really delighted the Trillium Foundation saw it fit to support our project. We’ve been looking forward to this for some time.” To help purchase and install a splash pad in St-Isidore Park, $4,00 will be awarded to e Nation Municipality over a six-month peri- od. e project is expected to increase oppor- tunities for accessible and affordable physical and recreational activities for children and their families. e Maxville and District Chamber of Commerce is slated to receive $9,000 over one year to grow the Maxville Music Festival by supporting artists’ fees, increasing its promotion and enhancing the technical quality of the con- certs with new lighting and sound equipment. Services communautaires de Prescott et Russell was awarded $2,000 over one year to hire a consultant to assist in the development of a five-year strategic plan, which will help this organization increase its capacity to respond to the changing demographics and needs of its cli- entele in Prescott-Russell. Radio communautaire Cornwall-Alexan- dria Inc. will receive $08,800 over one year to ensure residents in Prescott-Russell and Stor- mont, Dundas and Glengarry counties have access to Francophone-community radio pro- gramming by updating the transmission and broadcasting equipment at CHOD-FM. Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité will benefit from $00,000 over two years to obtain a full-time coordina- tor who will create a structure for people in the food-production sector to meet, collabo- rate and strengthen the market for local pro- duce throughout Stormont, Dundas and Glen- garry, Prescott-Russell and Ottawa. e Glengarry Inter-Agency Group Inc. will receive $79,900 over two years to develop the infant-literacy kit program and train com- munity partners to distribute the kits and deliv- er the program throughout Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry and Prescott- Russell counties. e Tri-County Literacy Council has been awarded $50,000 over one year to support the development of a social enterprise, includ- ing the hiring of a coordinator who will ex- plore various models and develop and imple- ment strategic and evaluation plans to deliver the Parent as Teachers program, which engages parent-volunteers to share child-development information with parents of children aged zero to three years in Stormont, Dundas and Glen- garry, Prescott-Russell and Akwesasne. Finally, Victim Services of Stormont, Dun- das, Glengarry and Akwesasne will receive $32,400 over one year to reduce physical barri- ers at the organization’s facility by adding fully accessible doors, a lift and a washroom. e organization will then be able to bet- ter assist police and other emergency services in meeting the immediate needs of victims of crime and tragic circumstances. BY JUSTIN BROMBERG [email protected] Avoca community centre almost ready to rebuild, with some financial support AVOCA – Residents of Avoca are hoping to have their community centre back by the end of this summer, and are prepared to do some fund- raising to make that dream a reality. e former community centre burned last August, in what investigators later determined was an act of arson. e historical building had served the com- munity as a schoolhouse from the late 800s un- til 956, before becoming a community centre for the people of Avoca and Grenville-sur-la- Rouge. “ere’s a lot of historical value, it’s been a focal point of the Avoca community,” explained Art Currie, a director with the community cen- tre association and the chair of the building committee. “at’s where all the local recep- tions, celebrations and dances have taken place and there’s a very strong feeling for it here.” e estimated cost of rebuilding the new community centre is $60,000 to $80,000, which leaves another $50,000 to $60,000 to be collected by the fundraising committee. e total sum would allow the building com- mittee to construct the new building this sum- mer, install heating and electricity in the au- tumn months, and furnish it. “We’re now gathering a lot of steam to pur- sue [the initial fundraising] even more,” Cur- rie told e Review. “We’ve also got a second (building) committee, which has been assessing the costs of rebuilding the building and how far we can go in the near future, based on the funds we have.” He said the new building will be built on the same property as the old community centre, but not on in its exact former location. In terms of size, there is “a slight increase” in square foot- age compared to the old building. “is plan is much the same in terms of floor plan and the layout inside,” said Currie. “It’s go- ing to resemble the old building, but it’s not a replica.” He added there was a consensus reached at a recent community meeting to proceed with the first phase of the project. A contractor will begin the concrete work, starting with the foundation, in June. e fram- ing of the building will proceed in late summer or the early autumn. e second phase would be to install heating and electricity in the building, at which point community members will volunteer their time to finish the interior and furnish the building. ose interested in donating funds to the campaign should contact Shirley Young at 89- 242-3943, or send a donation to Avoca Commu- nity Centre, c/o Fundraising Committee, 224 Avoca Road, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Québec, J0V B0. BY JUSTIN BROMBERG [email protected] Municipal election candidates all reported 2010 election expenses HAWKESBURY – Although more than 20 candidates in last fall’s municipal elections failed to file their financial statements in the City of Ottawa, mu- nicipal candidates in local municipali- ties all submitted their returns on time. As per the Municipal Elections Act, candidates were required to file state- ments to their respective municipali- ties by Friday, March 25, outlining their campaign expenses and listing contri- butions from companies and individ- uals. Any candidate who fails to file their statement is barred from running in the next election, and also jeopardizes their donors’ eligibility for a tax rebate. All 7 candidates for office in Hawkesbury, including two school board trustees, filed their statements on time. Hawkesbury Mayor René Berthi- aume spent $6,276 on his campaign, while outgoing mayor Jeanne Charle- bois spent $4,508. Candidates in North Glengarry also filed their statements accordingly. May- or Grant Crack spent $4,50 on his campaign and mayoral challenger Rob- ert Proulx spent $5,55. Newly-elected Maxville Council- lor Carma Williams spent $2,5, while former councillor George Currier had no expenses to claim. e five other councillors and one school board trustee, who won by ac- clamation, did not have any expenses to report. Financial statements were filed by all candidates in Champlain Township, though only those involved in an elec- tion had expenses to claim. In L’Orignal ward, Councillor Jacques Lacelle spent $898, Councillor Bernard Franche spent $605, and candi- date Marc Séguin spent $68. In West Hawkesbury ward, Council- lor Gerard Miner spent $,232, Council- lor Pierre Perreault spent $93, and can- didate Luc Royer spent $896. Elected CSDCEO school board trustee Sergine Rachelle-Bouchard spent $2,024 on her election campaign, while candidate Celine Lalande spent $,260. In East Hawkesbury, where all five candidates in last year’s election were acclaimed, township staff said papers were filed soon after the closing date for candidates, though none reported any expenses. BY JUSTIN BROMBERG [email protected] To retire or not to retire, that is the question ROCKLAND – Veteran Glengarry-Prescott-Rus- sell MPP Jean-Marc Lalonde is about to make a very big decision: whether or not to retire from the position he has held for the past 5 years. After saying he would officially declare his intentions at a press conference on Tuesday, April 2, Lalonde was in Rockland for a funding announcement on Saturday, April 9 when he let it slip that he likely won’t seek a sixth term as MPP. “I will say right now, today, that there is a 90 per cent chance I will retire and a 0 per cent chance I will seek re-election,” he said. e percentage in favour of retiring has in- creased steadily over the past several months. Last month, Lalonde said he was 85 per cent certain he would retire, while it was 70 per cent certain the month before that. “I haven’t made my decision lightly,” the MPP said, noting he is proceeding in the same manner he did last year when he considered running for mayor of Clarence-Rockland. “Not even my wife knew what my decision was until I made the official announcement,” Lalonde said. “I have taken a lot of time to weigh my options.” He said if he doesn’t seek re-election, he would like to remain active in the municipalities in Prescott-Russell and pointed out he would still have “a good six months” left in the term to see many “priority” projects through. Lalonde made his official announcement in Rockland yesterday evening. See next week’s edition of e Review for the full story. BY LIANNE LAHAIE [email protected] “I will say right now, today, there is a 90 per cent chance that I will retire and a 10 per cent chance I will seek re-election.” – Jean-Marc Lalonde, MPP FILE PHOTO SHARON GRAVES-MCRAE
