The Our Town - Clarenville Blog by Paul Tilley

This photo is of the former Clarenville Primary School.  You can't quite make out the graffiti on the door which says Welcome to Hell.  Perhaps the artist doesn't realize that it's no longer operating as a school. As I passed by it today, I wondered about the status of the building. It has been closed for over a year now. I assume it is considered an asset of the provincial government but I wonder about its future. It certainly can't be left to rot or left to be the target of vandals. While travelling through Ontario recently with the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference , I toured the Rexdale Community Hub . The community of Rexdale is a priority neighbourhood of the City of Toronto.  The Hub is housed in a renovated school. It houses about 11 social agencies, including a women's centre, medical clinic, family resource centre and employment centre. It also includes a gym with hopes to soon include a community kitche...

  This week, there will be a pretty impressive meeting happening on the Burin Peninsula.  A Burin Peninsula Joint Council will be formed consisting of all towns on the peninsula.  For the past two years, a number of organizations have been working to put this together. It's pretty impressive. The Burin Peninsula consists of very diverse and dispersed communities. And they're like a family - they fight with each other but they know when to make up. In many cases, partnerships are formed because they must be (such as a funding requirement).  In other cases, partnerships are formed because the partners recognize they can be stronger together. But that strength only comes with a lot of work and commitment. True collaboration is difficult and egos can often get in the way. It will be interesting to watch this Joint Council take shape. I've noticed a lot more partnerships with some towns in the Clarenville area.  The towns of Arnold's Cove, ...