It’s the morning after an election win for five candidates who have successfully been selected as councillors for the Town of Renfrew. Four of them are new to this, Councillors Dick, Cybulski, Legris, and McDonald. The fifth, Councillor McWhirter, has served on council in the past, but this morning I’m describing here must still feel pretty good for him too.
There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as standing for office, or any other election-based position, and coming out the other end of it on top. There’s a bit of a high attached to it. And excitement. Perhaps even a little bit of anxiety now that you’ve gone and put your name out there, and then won. You’re happy, people are happy for you, your family is super happy, and proud on top of that. It’s a cool experience.
I haven’t read my morning paper this morning, so I don’t have any great detail, but I feel I don’t need to for one simple reason.
I know how to read a map.
Donald Trump, as much as I hate to say it, is the 47th president of the United States, I think it’s the first and only time a once-serving president came back to serve again after being out of office for a number of years and defeated in an election between terms.
Pundits and talking-heads on television, radio, and the internet will have the complete low-down on the how’s and why’s of it, so there won’t be any of that here. As perplexed as I am by his win, I can still see how it came to pass. After all, you can’t just rage over your morning coffee about the supposed “stupidity” of Americans to vote for such a man. Rather, you have to look dispassionately at why a nation approaching 350 million people would do so in the face of everything we know and see about him.
Acting Director Eckford briefs council on a staff recommendation to apply for a matching grant from the province to update local parks, both low-fee and no-fee, as they’ve not received any attention in many years and are in need of updating.
Updates would include improvements to picnic tables through replacement as well as designating at least one table/park as an accessibility table, with either a paved or stone-based pathway leading to that table, again for accessibility. Other improvements would involve obtaining new trash receptacles to replace the aging fleet of trash cans currently in place. And finally, updated signage with the latest town branding to replace the existing signage.
As indicated, the province will match what the town puts up itself and assume 50% of the financial cost of improvements. In the case of these local parks, Mr. Eckford recommends $150,000 to be the sweet spot for the town, as that would yield a total of $300,000 for the project after the government matches the town investment.
Councillor Dick asked how the money would be spent if the grant application were to be successful. In other words, who gets a say in how this money is to be spent.
Mr. Eckford indicated that there was every possibility of having council weigh-in on how and where the funds would be directed, but stressed that the money would have to be directed towards the goals stated in the application for the grant. And so, if accessibility were to be the foundation of the grant, it would also have to be the foundation of how the money is spent. In other words, you have to remain within the spirit and confines of the grant application.
Councillor Legris noted that such grants also have the potential to have the government assume 70% of the project cost in special circumstances. Is this something the town staff would consider, or perhaps have already considered?
Mr. Eckford indicated that, based on Renfrew’s population, a case could be made that Renfrew does fall within the defined “special circumstances,” but that to make that application, the content of the proposal would be put under far closer scrutiny, putting it’s approval at risk if the province deemed it not to meet the threshold for the 70% government share.
COMMENTARY
Not much to comment on here, really. It does appear to be a cost-efficient way to upgrade parts of the parks and recreation mandate at a minimal cost, what with the province throwing in half of the money. For $150,000, we get $300,000 worth of punch to direct towards improvements at these public parks that have, unfortunately, been neglected for a period of time. The grant would allow for improvements that bring those parks up to, or closer to, accessibility standards.
Going after the “special circumstances” grant may be risky, in that the application may be turned down under the closer scrutiny process, and applying for it in the first place may negate the possibility of applying for the 50% grant. In other words, I’m not sure if you could apply for both simultaneously. It may well be one or the other, and if that’s the case, it’s probably the more judicious move to apply for the 50% match than the higher one. Sure you can get lucky, and I’m sure staff would have no problem presenting their case, but still, it just might be that the lesser amount represents the greater chance of approval. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush, as granny used to say.
The Committee of the Whole will look at a proposal by engineering and planning consultants JP2G to provide a detailed site investigation and prepare a report with recommendations and cost estimates to replace existing lighting at the Ma-Te-Way complex, and delay any work until 2025.
ACTING-DIRECTOR ECKFORD
Council directed staff in a September meeting to investigate the underground power lines and boxes that provided power for lighting for three ball fields, Tye, Seeley, and Rusheleau. Local electricians attended Ma-Te-Way as part of this inspection, and tested the lines, concluding that the majority of those lines were in need of repair or replacement.
The department recommends having JP2G totally re-design how electricity and lighting can be better provided, efficiently and cost-effectively, for users of the various facilities contained within the park.
One of the local electricians provided some possible solutions and provided estimates for those solutions, ranging from $121,000 to $171,000 before HST. In light of these figures, it was felt that it would be a reasonable move to hire JP2G to do the proposed investigation leading to a redesIgn for a shade under $4000, and that this would be a good first step.
That JP2G project would be undertaken four weeks upon the awarding of the contract, but would conclude too late in the season for any action to be taken on its recommendations this year. That pushes any actual work into the 2025 season. That would mean that “some field usage” would be impacted in the spring. A facility usage report showed that field usage from May 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024 saw only 87.5 hours of usage after 8 PM. The department would recommend a “phased-in” approach to any work, with work being done on Tye first, followed by Rusheleau, followed by Seeley, and then the toboggan hill last. If this were to be the case, a solar-based lighting system would need to be implemented to provide light for the toboggan hill until spring 2025.
Tuesday night and Wednesday morning will be tense, and I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling this up here in Canada, where we don’t even get a vote. That said, I have to make an attempt to condition myself against what I feel to be the worst-case scenario, that being the election of someone I profoundly wish to be gone. I’ll say nothing more on that.
But what if it doesn’t go “my” way? What then?
I guess I could just hunker down and assume the worst of everything will be on its way. But I have to remind myself that sometimes, actually a lot of times, the Americans surprise me, both as a nation and as a people. So, while doom and gloom might be the easiest stick to reach for, I don’t think there’s any harm in considering how we might just get through this moving forward, despite who wins.
My goodness, I could sure use some good news. I feel like I’ve been carping on this, that, and the other thing, like, forever.
But then science and technology jumped into my world, at least a little bit, and I found something entirely encouraging.
Eyesight is such a key part of the living experience. Yes, people can still interact with their environment having lost their sight, or having never been gifted with it in the first place.
But as much as we can adapt, it would still be preferable to have sight rather than not.
And now, it’s theoretically possible to restore sight using a combination of genetics and optics, giving people afflicted with sight-loss an opportunity to experience the visual sense of the world again or even for the first time.
This new technology involves a partnership between gene therapy and light stimulation. And oddly enough, a virus.
The virus in question is known as an adenovirus, one that can usually cause symptoms resembling a cold or other respiratory ailments. But in this case, it can help.
The essential aspect behind this technique is the patient’s retinal cells and how they can be modified by injecting them with a light-sensitive protein from, well, red algae if you must know. This makes the neurons of the patient’s optic nerve more photoreceptive. That’s the genetic part.
The light stimulation comes from wearing special glasses that record the world around the patient before projecting those images onto the patient’s retina.
It’s not going to be the same as regular vision, although maybe we can get there down the road. But when you have no vision at all, then it sounds to me to represent a bit of a breakthrough.
One hundred and fifty-five years ago, the Canadian government initiated a program to mitigate what it described as its “Indian problem.” The plan called for the creation and operation of what became known as residential schools. Interestingly, the schools were run by faith-based organizations, like the United, Presbyterian, and Catholic Churches.
And they were brutal.
Native children were forcibly removed from their reserve homes and brought to remote locations, making escape a difficult proposition. They had their hair cut off, were soaked in kerosene to remove lice, and were forced to speak English, upon pain of physical beating if they didn’t or were caught speaking their indigenous languages. They were taught how to speak, write, and worship as a white person would, although at least two of those three were almost universal failures.
They were taught to eat properly, conduct themselves properly, and even walk properly. I know first-hand the story of a girl beaten by nuns for the sin of being “pigeon-footed.” That girl was five when taken from her parents. She returned home at age eighteen, both parents dead, other siblings dead, and caught in a wasted in-between, not being able to speak either English nor her indigenous language well enough to be considered fluent in either. She was lost, broken, traumatized, and alone.
But there was one thing she learned to do very well in the thirteen years that she passed in “custody.” She learned how to hate the people who put her there and kept her there. The people who did this to her.
She would never trust them for as long as she lived.
The Chicago Blackhawks limped into Crypto.com Arena yesterday afternoon to play the Los Angeles Kings, a day after dropping a should-have-won game against the San Jose Sharks the night before. The Hawks played well against the next-to-last-place Sharks — Chicago having the honour of last place in the overall NHL standings — at least well enough to win, but they came up short, something that’s happened a lot so far this season. In short, they laid the proverbial egg.
Going up against the Kings looked imposing, LA having a team much better at present than the still-rebuilding, yet veteran-laden Blackhawks. Losing to the Sharks was a downer, and losing to the Kings would be a downer too, yet perhaps a more understandable one.
Chicago did not disappoint. The laid another egg — Blackhawks being one of the more prolific egg-producing clubs in the NHL to date — and for the first fifty minutes gave no sense that they were going to be competitive, watching the Kings control the puck, win the battles, control the face-off dot, and generally ride roughshod over the Hawks. Having a two-goal lead, 2-0, midway through the third seemed almost to be a guarantee that Chicago fans would witness what they’ve witnessed several times already this year, an empty-net, extra-skater mad scramble at the end that comes up empty. And that’s exactly what their fans got. Sort of.
APPENDIX: A document attached to a larger document or publication that contains material-in-depth in support of the broader document. Additional information related to the topic. (plural / appendices)
CHANGE ORDER: A change in the terms of a contract that has already started to be implemented. Changes contained in an order may impact the scope of the project, the cost of the project, or both. In short, something came up that was unforeseen after the contract work started that made the terms of the contract untenable for one or both of the parties involved. A change order will reflect the new reality of the project, and the new cost.
MOBILIZATION: The gathering of the people and materials necessary to begin and complete a task. Ideally with a construction project, mobilization occurs once, at the beginning. Projects extending over two calendar years require additional mobilization, one at the beginning in Year 1, and another to start again in Year 2. Mobilization of human and material resources costs money. The need to duplicate it costs even more money.
KEY PEOPLE: Andrea Bishop
Ms. Bishop is listed on the town’s website as the Manager of Engineering and Asset Management. Yet the others present at the meeting refer to her as Acting Director, but no indication of Acting Director of what. It may be the she has taken on the position of Eric Withers, who I believe no longer serves with the town. If that’s the case, Ms. Bishop would be the Acting-Director of Development, Environment and Infrastructure / Deputy CAO, which admittedly, is a pretty impressive title. I just wouldn’t want to have to stitch it onto a staff hoody because I’d likely need both sides, front and back. Or two hoodies.
I’m not sure entirely what her title may be, but I do hope to get it right so that the title accurately reflects the position held by Ms. Bishop. So apologies in advance if I get it wrong.
APPENDICES A TO D: Active construction projects in the Town of Renfrew
The United States has embarked on a search for a new air-to-air platform to replace what is already a formidable lineup of such beasts. They’re looking at, among other things, a so-called sixth-generation of crewed fighter aircraft, meaning a craft that is flown by a real live person sitting in the cockpit.
The US Navy has already started production — and in a pinch deployment — of its next-generation fighter, the F/A-XX, the intended replacement for the F/A-18 Hornet currently aboard America’s fleet of aircraft carriers.
Not to be out-done by the navy, the United States Air Force has fielded its designs for a version of a Next Generation Air Dominance —NGAD — fighter of its own. It’s not currently as advanced as the USN’s program, to the delight of the navy — inter-service rivalry and all that — and to the chagrin of air force generals.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 