The Our Town - Clarenville Blog by Paul Tilley

8:25 am, Dec 5 - Imagine walking on the sidewalk back on to this oncoming load of trusses.  You would not stand a chance. CLICK the photo to zoom Yesterday in St. John's there was a rally held at Memorial University to raise awareness of the issue of pedestrain safety.   Certainly, this issue is not limited to St. John's.  All high traffic centres should focus more on the relationship between pedestrian movement and traffic movement. Clarenville, for example, has some very definite areas where pedestrain safety can be improved.  We need more sidewalks and more and safer crosswalks.  Council has, to their credit, recognized this. The Business community, however, now needs to play a stronger role in pedestrian safety as well.  With all of the construction in Clarenville there are a lot of large vehilces plying our roads with heavy and often wide loads.  Better care must be taken by companies to ensure pedestian safety in our town, especially around these vehicles. Tight

When you think of public spaces in Clarenville, what do you think of? Elizabeth Swan Park? Perhaps. Kids and their parents might gather because of the playground. But usually the gathering is because there's something happening--Winter Carnival event, Clarenville Day, Arts Under the Stars. Where do people in the town go to hang out, meet up with people, feel good about their community? Some of you are thinking Tim Horton's! The Shoal Harbour Trail is the beginning of what could be a nice public space. Many people enjoy the walk around the harbour but there's not really a gathering place per se. White Hills plays a bit of that role. Many people hang out at the lift line! Or meet in many of the cross-country chalets or the downhill chalet. There's a sense of community there. The creation of public places is an important topic to consider in community planning. Communities thrive because neighbourhoods thrive. Because people know and care about each other. Does t

It's often a challenge to show people the potential impact of mixing booze and driving.   Over the past few years, some innovative approaches have been taken in the form of mock disasters.   Such a disaster took place in Clarenville today.     First Responders from Clarenville held such a Mock Disaster Drill Thursday, November 29, 2012 in front of the Clarenville Middle and High school complex.   Members of Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD), the RCMP, the Clarenville Volunteer Fire Departments, & Fewers Ambulance Service extricated volunteer “victims” out of two smashed cars.    About 600 students, teachers and parents looked on as a very real rescue and recovery played out.

On November 25, the Kiwanis Club of Clarenville held a fundraiser at the Clarenville Events Centre that will contribute towards supplying Tetanus drugs to underdeveloped parts of the world. Here's a sample of the artists:

It’s a cool Saturday morning as I write this in Clarenville. The temperature is hovering at the 5 degree mark.   At this hour, on Harbour Drive, crews from a paving company are in the process of repaving damaged parts of the road. This “scratching and patching” as it is known, started Thursday morning.  Numerous pieces of equipment and numerous people swarmed over the road at the Huntley Drive intersection – at 8:30am.  10’s of vehicles, including school buses full of children were lined up to get in the single entrance way to Riverside school and 10’s of vehicles were lined up trying to get out. It was, for anyone caught in it, anarchy. Exactly one week before Council crews were busy doing a similar road repair in the middle of the intersection of Memorial and Manitoba Drives – again at 8:30 am at the height of morning traffic, causing further traffic anarchy and making a dangerous situation for Council crews. Arguably these jobs are necessary and have to be done some ti

Hebron just recently published their human resource requirements for the GBS build at Bull Arm on their website.   Needless to say, a lot of skilled people will be required to build that platform and, with a clear strategy, Clarenville could benefit greatly during the construction phase and beyond.   The first table gives the best indication on the types of jobs and the damand for each of these jobs through the project (Measured in Employment Hours).  No doubt we're in for a couple or three busy years!    CLICK THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT SOURCE:  www.hebronproject.com

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

After carefully listening to Tuesday’s Council meeting I was taken aback by Council's approval and insistence for “in writing” only proposals and limited private meetings for the pre-budget consultation with the finance committee scheduled for October 30. The formality of this approach will almost ensure that fewer people will seek a meeting and, because of the insistence on “in writing” comments, even fewer people will take part – especially those who are not competent speakers or writers – they will simply not bother to participate in the process. What impact will this decision have on the retired senior, people who prefer to express themselves vocally rather than through the written word  or the young person who each might have some very insightful thoughts to share with the Council but who will be frozen out? If you feel Clarenville needs more opportunity for citizen participation rather than less, please express your concerns to Mayor Fred Best  fred@clarenville.net

Surely by now, if you own property, you have received your 2012 property assessment in the mail.   It’s been a jaw dropping experience for most people as we have seen the appraised values of our properties go up by 25% or more over the last assessment 3 years ago.   Because of this, the Municipal Assessment Agency, the provincial agency that calculates the values, has become a lightning rod for taxpayers and municipal governments alike. Tuesday night’s Council meeting was no exception.  The MAA received an impassioned bashing – but I’m not convinced. If you look at your assessment, I am sure that you will agree that it is a truer reflection of the actual value of your property.  Ask yourself honestly – could I get at least this much for my house if I sold it?  I am sure you will agree that it’s a more realistic value.   Because this assessed value is more realistic, banks will more readily acknowledge the value of your assets – making loans easier and cheaper to get. As well,

I was at the hockey game this past weekend, where you?  If you were, did you work your way through the smoke outside the entrance? I remember when I sat on Council, we passed a progressive piece of legislation that outlawed smoking on all town owned property – including the stadium and stadium grounds.  At around the same time, several other  government departments and agencies, as well as some privately owned shopping malls, also adopted policies outlawing smoking on their properties.  It seemed like the thing to do. Since that time I have seen this rule made a mockery of time and time again – not just at the stadium but virtually everywhere that adopted the policy. Like many of the rules that are made, I wonder if they are made more to “look’ like some organization is being progressive rather than actually being progressive.   Old habits die hard, both for the organizations that make the rules and for those who choose to ignore the rules. Now I'm not out to

Random Thoughts...: A New Piece of the Rotary Trail : Clarenville has a new trail to enjoy. Part of the Rotary Trail, it starts at the Dog Park and meets up with the original Rotary Trail. L...

Making the Town better - Here’s a laundry list of ideas that I will file under the heading  “People Potential” Ice Cap Opportunity The Clarenville Events Centre in all its splendor as Danny Williams, CEO of the Ice Caps, presents a cheque for $5000 to Clarenville Minor Hockey. On Sunday the AHL's St. John's Ice Caps and Syracuse Crunch played a preseason exhibition game in front of 1100 hockey fans.  This event proved to be a great opportunity to showcase the Clarenville Events Centre and the Town to the league.  With the potential to hold the Allan Cup in 2015 and the upcoming 2014 NL Winter games, this was an incredible opportunity to showcase our capabilities. Based on the positive comments from the league and the media covering the league, they were impressed. Kudos to the organizers! The Highway Lookout Where's Clarenville: The TCH lookout at Naked Man is getting grown in For anyone who has traveled the TCH towards Clarenvil

If you have been at Walmart of Kent lately, you will have noticed the land development activity that is going on behind these stores.   That development is designed to open up commercial development space in that Shoal Harbour Drive / Coish Place area.      The developer, in this case, is the Town of Clarenville. The Town has borrowed and spent a good chunk of change in order to make that land usable.  At the Council meeting this past Tuesday, the Town accepted a tender from Cougar Construction for $293,000 to do further work.  The problem is that this tendered amount was 30% more ($93,000) than what was predicted by the Town’s own estimates.  That’s a significant overage and a large amount of money that the Town will have to unexpectedly borrow.  It could also potentially affect the town’s ability to borrow for other things - like much needed road improvements.  Although I have no doubt that over time the newly developed land will be sold and the Town will recoup its

This Crosswalk can be found at the intersection of Huntley Drive and Harbour Drive.   I call it the Town's "Invisible" crosswalk because each day people cross here and each day cars zoom past oblivious to it. I go through this intersection many times a week and last week as I was stopped at the intersection I watched in horror as an RCMP cruiser sailed right through the crosswalk while somebody waited to cross.  Of course, I can't totally fault drivers for missing the crosswalk.  Eastbound traffic travelling at speed cannot really see it, or the sign indicating it's there until they are upon it.   More to the point, eastbound traffic can't see pedestrians crossing at the walk until they are up on them. It's a disaster waiting to happen. With school back in session and with the courtesy bus service discontinued from the Clearwater subdivision there are bound to be some kids using that crosswalk.   I shutter to think. There are two issues that nee