The Our Town - Clarenville Blog by Paul Tilley

To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. From: In Flanders Fields   John McCrae It's Remembrance Day in Clarenville. It was cold and crisp. Just the type of day that makes you appreciate the things we have - that things that make our lives more enjoyable and more comfortable. Based on the number of people at today's ceremony here in Clarenville, I am more convinced than ever that the significance of this day is certainly NOT being lost on a generation or two who have had no to limited experience of war. As we loose our veterans to the "failing hands" of age, I am glad to see so many young people catching their torch and holding it high. See photos of today's Ceremony on our OUR TOWN CLARENVILLE page HERE Stan Rogers wrote what I consider to be on of Canada's best songs dedicated to veterans - Sailors Rest... Dave Sullivan is an educator and a writer...this is a powerful piece from his book about S

What a Difference Seven Years Makes in Clarenville.   Today we climbed to Scholar John's lookout at the top of Lion's Face in Shoal Harbour.  It's just a 15 minute walk from the parking lot of Riverside school and yields a breathtaking view of the Shoal Harbour Valley looking out Ramdom Sound.  I took a picture from the same spot in the fall of 2005.  Compare the two photos and spot the differences. I'd encourage you to take the trail up to the lookout to see for yourself.   Click either photo to enlarge it and the right left arrow to toggle and compare the two Shoal Harbour Valley November 2012     Shoal Harbour Valley November 2005

We LOVE WINTER in Clarenville! Our community owned White Hills Resort has had some great improvements over the summer that will make your winter that much better. Thanks in part to a significant investment by the Federal Government through ACOA ,  $441,000 has been invested into upgrading two critical parts of the visitor experience in the 2012-2013 seasons.  First, improvements have been made to the interior of the day lodge and an extension has been added to the ski rental shop.  These changes will improve customer flow and reduce wait times. Second, there is a new point of sale booking system installed for 2012-2013 that will allow for a speedier and more efficient processing of skier registrations.  Through it, the resort will be able to book ski rentals and other equipment in advance, reducing congestion at the rental kiosks during peak periods. Our White Hills Resort offers winter  enthusiasts access to 18 ski runs and over 750 vertical feet of tra

For the past several weeks Clarenville campus’ Enactus team has been planning Trick-or-Eat. It’s a cross-Canada program of the Meal Exchange that has people collect non-perishable food for food banks in their local area on Halloween. Last Evening, our campuses Enactus team, coupled with a committed gang of Clarenville High School student volunteers, broke into seven groups to canvass Clarenville, Trinity and Burgoynes Cove in support of Trick-or-East . Thanks to the support of VOCM, THE PACKET and a social media blitz, many of the homes we went to already had their bags of food or their monetary donation ready. We collected hundreds of food items (in excess of 2500lbs and counting...) thanks to the generosity of people and organizations in Clarenville, Burgoynes Cove and the Trinity area. Owing to time constraints, we certainly missed some areas, however our collection is ongoing. If you want to help us help the food bank, please drop off you donation in the

On October 30, Clarenville Town Council invited interested parties and groups to present to them recommendations towards developing the 2013 Town of Clarenville Budget.  This is my submission: My presentation has three major themes: 1) Clarenville needs to focus on its people:  We need the right people, with the right skills (working for the town and living in the town) to grow Clarenville. 2) Clarenville's growth needs to be managed.  Rules are important, but more importantly these rules need to be applied and monitored. 3) Clarenville's future success relies on NEW people coming to town.  Without the luxury of a baby boom, our future success will rely on attracting and retaining younger, better educated, community oriented people.  To be attracted and to stay these people require that the Town be an attractive place to live, professionally run and with the amenities that they want.  If we don't do this other towns will. (Greater St. John's, CBS, CBN is our im

Naheed Nenshi is the Mayor of Calgary.  He’s young, just over 40, and he’s innovative.  Mayor Nenshi spoke at Memorial University last week and in St. John’s.  His hour long talk and question and answer session is a fascinating look on how we can renew municipal government and engage citizens in the process.  It’s well worth the watch – see it  here Key discussion themes that Mayor Nenshi raised in his discussion.  I reflect on them as LESSONS FOR CLARENVILLE: On Involvement - people will be involved in their community if they are asked to be involved. On being open as a country   - Nenshi noted that in order to continue our growth we are going to need imported talent.   We have to be more open.   Nobody should care where you are from - be concerned about what you can bring to the table On Transparency  - People want honesty and transparency. Transparency breeds honesty and citizen engagement On the importance of Municipal Government - If the federal or pro

Last week you and I and the Town of Clarenville bought a new pickup truck.   It’s a pretty regular occurrence for the Town to purchase a piece of equipment to allow it to do the things that we, as citizens, expect to be done.   In order to help ensure that our elected officials get the best value for our tax dollars, things of any significant value (>$500) need to be purchased through a tendering process.  This means that we get at least three quotes on a significant item before we buy and then we, through our elected council, select the best of the bids. Multiple quotes ensure that our best interests are served.  Last week this did not happen and I’m not at all sure why.   According to the transcript of the meeting (reported on the PACKET website Oct 6 meeting @ 33 minute mark) , only a single quote was received for a ¾ ton pickup to the value of $39,947 +HST.  This single quote was accepted without question by the Council. There are many companies that sell this