The Our Town - Clarenville Blog by Paul Tilley

On Tuesday September 24, townspeople in the Province's municipalities will vote for new municipal councils. Nomination Day is Tuesday, August 27.  In Clarenville there will be two votes; one for the position of Mayor and another for the 6 other councillors who will constitute our Town's government for the next 4 years.   If you are interested in running, Municipalities NL and The Department of Municipal Affairs have created a great resource called  MAKING YOUR MARK  - it has lots of useful information for would-be-councillors. Here in Clarenville, I expect there will be a lot of interest from people considering running.  I’ve been there and I have some insights on what a new Councilor can expect in his or her role. MEETINGS General Meetings: Structure and Schedule If you like meeting lots of people with great ideas, Council is the place for you.  Clarenville’s Council meets every second week on Tuesdays.   The work of Council however is done in Committee and th

On Tuesday September 24, townspeople in the Province's municipalities will vote for new municipal councils. Nomination Day is Tuesday, August 27.  In Clarenville there will be two votes; one for the position of Mayor and another for the 6 other councillors who will constitute our Town's government for the next 4 years.   If you are interested in running, Municipalities NL and The Department of Municipal Affairs have created a great resource called MAKING YOUR MARK - it has lots of useful information for would-be-councillors. Here in Clarenville, I expect there will be a lot of interest from people considering running.  Here's my take on what I perceive to be the key issues a new council/mayor/councillor will face...   Immediate Issues Municipal Waste - Clarenville is one of the only communities in eastern NL to have twice a week, all you can throw away, garbage collection. We have no curbside recycling and no composting (These make up about 50% of garbage by we

After a three week hiatus, Council meet on Tuesday, July 8 and a lot of positive things got done - some of which have been visited before.    Here's a quick overview of key highlights and how the decisions could affect you: (the PACKET recorded the meeting for everyone to listen to and I encourage you to listen.)  VANDALISM There is a great look-out on the Shoal Harbour trail and seven years ago I was involved in helping get interpretive signage put on this lookout.  I was dismayed last week when I saw one of the signboards vandalized.  Since then vandals have done their utmost to destroy the works.  All four poster  boards and their mounts have now been damaged.   They will have to be redone at considerable expense to taxpayers. This was raised in Council and they agreed to issue a $500 reward for information leading to a conviction of the culprits.  Further Council will look at installing cameras on these problem areas. NEW PAVEMENT for NEW ROAD Owing to it

I firmly believe more people should go for a walk in Clarenville.   Walking gives you a much better perspective on our surroundings and it gives you time to think about – on one hand - just how lucky we are to live here – and on the other hand – some of the challenges we face. Take, for example the Harbour walk around the inner Shoal Harbour.  Each evening, this trail is full of walkers enjoying the views – the ocean, the occasional eagle, ducks etc.  This trail was not an accident.   Some visionary people saw the potential for this trail walk and about 10 years ago through a well-organized effort, they turned their vision into the reality that we enjoy today.  Those are the things and the people that make our town a very livable community – and we are lucky for that. But as you walk, you will also notice a very worrisome trend that is not being addressed.   Traffic volumes have jumped exponentially in the past decade and most worrisomely, the average speed of traffic h

I first met Fred Best on my front lawn in during the 1997 Municipal Election campaign.  He was running for Mayor – again - against an up-and-comer municipal politician by the name of Frazer Russell.  Fred had the energy of a wild horse back then as he ambled from house to house meeting the residents with a passion and vigor that a mayor needs.  He’s a consummate politician and someone I admire for his dedication to Clarenville – not just since 1997 but since he entered Council in 1970’s.  He has been in those chambers ever since, 36 years serving as Mayor of Clarenville.  It’s thanks to Fred that I ran for Council in 1995.  His call of encouragement was the push I needed to stand for election.      I know from my one term that it is is a great experience and privilege to serve but it is a never ending and sometimes thankless job where, as a general rule, you don’t make a lot of friends, you pee some people off, and all topics of conversation that you get involved in eventually

The average person here is such that we ought never to have had self-government; we are not fit for it."(St. John's businessman Eric Bowring in testimony to the Amulree Royal Commission 1933) It's a good thing that the number of Communications people in government has grown extraordinarily in the past few years. Experience has shown time and time again, that Ministers of the government sometimes say the most inept things.  These Ministers really need someone holding their hand (mouth) to prevent "Open-Mouth Insert (swallow)-Foot" and to make them look good. Obviously, such was not the case when the current Minister of Municipal Affairs, the Hon Kevin O'Brien suggested to Randy Simms in this month's edition of MNL's Municipal News - on the eve of the next round of municipal elections in September - that allowing too many uninformed voters to vote using a computer would be wrong. “People who don’t know what’s going on,  voting for people

A community's Fire Department is called “The Fire Department” for a reason.   They fight fires and save our lives. Our fire department is made up of 30 or so volunteers who came forward from our community to give up their time and energy to willingly put themselves in harm’s way to save us and our families in the event of a fire or emergency. The did sign up for the fire rescue business; they did not sign up to be in the hazardous waste business. In this past week’s Council meeting, a small but important tidbit was raised by Councillor Pickett regarding the Clarenville Fire Department’s / Town of Clarenville’s refusal to take part in this year’s reformatted  Hazardous Waste Disposal Program.   (see this week’s PACKET " No Hazardous waste collection in Clarenville this year: Fire department chooses not to volunteer " May 29, p1 ) This year over 30 volunteer fire departments across the province will be hosting their own communities Hazardous Waste Day(s

In a time when the media is full of stories about the challenges being faced by our education system, it is heartening to find a shining example where the true heart of our education system – the people in it – is proven to be beating and very much alive and capable of creating priceless opportunities for “learning moments". Such was the case at a Riverside School concert this past Wednesday evening.  Grade 3-6 students demonstrated their talent in an evening of Newfoundland and Labrador song and dance.   There were many outstanding acts, but two acts in particular became "learning moments". One act had a talented young man doing his rendition of Terra Nova National Park’s folk hero Clayton, (AKA Dave Saunders) doing the “moves” to “I’m Clayton and I know it” (You can see Clayton’s original and hilarious video below).  Unbeknownst to the young performer, “Clayton” was in the audience and he joined the young man on stage!  A unexpected and awesome surprise!   

Clarenville's latest Municipal Plan   was proclaimed just over a year ago after a fairly comprehensive consultation and development process.  Essentially the Municipal Plan process maps out how the town will grow for the next decade by establishing a vision and regulations for that growth.  According to the legislation:  the council responsible for that area shall proceed with the development of a municipal plan and development regulations.`... The plan shall: (a) include a statement of the objectives of the plan; (b) indicate the policies to be implemented under the plan; (c) divide land into land use classes and the use that may be made in each class and shall include prohibited uses of land; (d) include proposals for land use zoning regulations; (e) include proposals for the implementation of the plan; (f) provide provisions with respect to non-conforming uses; and (g) provide for the development of the planning area for a 10 year period. Since the latest edition

Every day, volunteers in our Town are busy working to make our community a better place to live. Every single one of them - are there are lots - do this without expectation of anything in return.   Volunteer service awards were handed out in recognition of contribution to the Community. The recipienets were: 1. Marjorie Alexander 2. John Baker 3. Harry Maidment 4. Caroline Bungay 5. William Day 6. Myrtle Elliot 7. Lydia Fewer 8. Yvonne Godfrey 9. Herb Goldsworthy 10. Garry Gosse 11. Ed Hiscock 12. Pat Humby 13. Cassie Ivany 14. Judy Northcott 15. Viola Peddle 16. Joliffe Quinton 17. Jessie Reid 18. Bert Roberts 19. Robin Rodway 20. Edith Ryan 21. Pearce Ryan 22. Amelia Stanley 23. Major Annette Vardy. This year's theme of Volunteer Week is "Let's Make Some Noise!" and it was evidenced at the celebration of volunteers that the Town and the Clarenville Area Recreation Association hosted. See for yourself...

Here's a few of the great performances from Thursday's show - more will be added.  If you are looking for a particular performance and would like to see it here email me and I'll add it... pauldtilley@gmail.com Riverside Choir Shae-lynn Winsor (Violin), CHS Saxaphone Quartet & APPA (Celebration) Anthony Paddon Elementary Choir

I see Councillors are getting an earful on the “old” mall parking lot. (see The Packet "Pot Holes Persist Feb 28/2013  )  The Town and the Mall owners have been at loggerheads for what seems like forever pointing fingers of blame at one another as absolutely nothing gets done to clean up what has become a decrepit part of Clarenville.    From the mall owner's/tenant's point of view, the Town owns the lot and IT is clearly the one responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the lot.  (This is thanks to an omission in the original 1960’s era development agreement that neglected to pass the ownership of the lot to the mall owners within a specified length of time)   From the Town’s point of view, it wants to be rid of the lot and the associated liability.  And their stand has a lot of merit from a taxpayer's point of view.  As long as the Town is forced to take care of the lot the owners & tenants are receiving an effective subsidy on the backs of taxpay

It’s time once again for the provincial government to start putting its 2014 budget together and, as in previous years, the pre-budget consultation road show starts this coming week.   This year, it’s being held in Clarenville on Friday the 15 th of February from 9-11 am at the Clarenville Inn.  Are you reading this and listening Town of Clarenville? Last year, the Town of Clarenville was conspicuously absent from the pre-budget consultation process.  It  wasn't  too long after that that our Town officials went crying to government, on a couple of occasions, for money for “very important projects” such as an overpass for Clarenville.   Was this a matter of doubting the merits of the process or just someone dropping the ball? I'm sad to say I think it was doubting indifference. Regardless of the perceived merit of the pre-budget consultation process, the process at least forces Town officials to plan - identify potential projects, cost them out and make an init

Today, Councillor John Pickett spoke to the monthly meeting of the Clarenville Chamber of Commerce.   His topic dealt with the 2013 Town of Clarenville Budget that he presented to Council this past December. Below is a video of   his presentation. I published the details when the budget was first delivered - see HERE Have a look at Coun. Pickett's presentation:

Eat The Hill is a winter foodabration!  Eat the Hill will be Clarenville’s first Culinary Festival and is taking place on the weekend of February 9 and 10, 2013 at Clarenville's White Hills Resort as a kick off to our 25th winter carnival . This 2 day foodie weekend will bring local chefs together to create some mouth-watering culinary treats.  Here's what to expect: Saturday, February 9th During the Day Enjoy the slopes and trails on Saturday with a full day pass for White Hills, eastern Newfoundland’s premier winter destination! As your day of skiing or snowboarding winds down head into the town and enjoy some of Clarenville’s outstanding locally owned shops. 7 Chefs - 6 Courses ​Then get ready as the evening begins... your chefs have been working tirelessly to produce an amazing 6 course meal; each chef will create a course using local ingredients. Dinner will begin at 7:30, the bar will open 30 minutes prior.  Meet the Chefs HERE After the meal, the eve

(I always find Barbara Dean Simmons Editorials in the   Packet though provoking. In this week's Packet see argues that governments should get on-the-ball with new technology (See: To 2013...and Beyond)  .  I want to take that a step further in relation to Clarenville)    Happy New Year everyone! When I arrived here in Clarenville twenty one years ago, the first person that I met at the College, where I work, was then Principal Steve Quinton.  Steve began to tell me about how he and a group of progressive individuals had lobbied to make Clarenville a hub in the technological revolution.  Shortly after that our campus was hooked to a brand new fibre optic network that connected Clarenville to the world at then’ blazing’ speeds  – through that innovation and initiative we (the Campus and the Town) gained a reputation for practical application of technology. Today we take it all pretty much for granted – we all connect to the internet and use it without a thought.   Techn

Today, the concept of dressing up to disguise one’s identity and then barging into other people’s houses as a Mummer, is something that most law abiding people would simply no longer do.   But it was fun.   Almost all of us who grew up in here in Nl have seen the classic Mummers episode from Land and Sea .   If you have not seen that episode you have certainly heard Simini’s Mummers Song. T he episode and the song that inspired it arguably  saved mummering from extinction.  Three years ago, The good folks in St. John’s hatched a plan that captured the fun of mummering while at the same time keeping people from being arrested.   The St. John’s Mummers festival has been a phenomenal, family friendly success.     http://mummersfestival.ca/ This was just enough inspiration for Lisa Browne to dare to try it here in Clarenville.   She convinced Rotary, me and many others that this could and would work here, so we decided a few months ago to give it a try. We promoted it with poste

It's budget time again in Clarenville. Here is my account of the budget presentation: Here's the Packet's link to AUDIO of the Budget Council meeting What is a Budget anyway? Each year, governments and organizations plan their expenditures and their revenues for the coming year.    The budget process forces the planning process and, in theory, it improves how and where money is spent.    On December 11, Con. John Pickett, Chair of the Finance committee of Council for the Town of Clarenville presented the 2013 Budget to a public meeting of Council.   What follows is an unofficial   summary of the 2013 budget presentation.     The Opportunities and Challenges of Growth: Clarenville Statistics ·          Clarenville’s population has grown by 14% in the past 5 years.   This makes us one of the fastest growing towns in the province with an official 2011 population of 6,036 people.   See: http://ourtownclarenville.blogspot.ca/2012/02/clarenville-grows-144-in-5-years.