Appreciation for Earth Day’s success
By Kathy Rowe
I want to thank the Community Earth Day committee for their hard work planning and facilitating the indoor/outdoor event on April 25. We had three busy locations this year, each with a variety of activities to manage, and all went very well. We could have had better weather, but we were grateful to all who came out to participate on such an important day.
I’d like to give special thanks to a few people who were key to the success of the day. These people went above and beyond to make sure that the community had the best event ever: Bob Lalonde (birdhouse workshop facilitator), Louise Bonnycastle (children’s craft facilitator), Rudy Kirpal (BBQ), Kevin Beleskey (Scouts recycling drive), Frank Kaufman (mini-repair café), and the Port Union Seniors (food and drink servers). The displays were terrific and there was a great deal for the community to learn on that day.
Thank you to the councillor’s office for the free compost for residents who want to get a jump on gardening. As well, Iron Mountain provided free paper shredding, which was a bonus to those who were able to safely recycle their personal papers for free!
Councillor’s Forum
On April 17, Neethan Shan hosted a community forum at the Port Union Community Centre. More than 30 residents came to pose questions and express ideas and concerns about our community. I was able to speak to the group about the Community Earth Day. In addition to that, I impressed upon the Centennial residents the importance of purchasing an annual CCRA membership. Our door-to-door membership campaign is starting this month, so please consider supporting our association this year.
Other topics raised at the forum consisted of: area hydro blackouts; TTC buses parking along the bike lanes east of the Rouge Hill Go station; abuse of the waterfront beaches on summer weekends; the status of the vacant school lands on Bridgeport Drive; and the noise from heavy transport trucks that travel up and down Port Union Road in the middle of the night. The councillor listened to these concerns and more with the intention of addressing them to the appropriate departments.
High Praise for Centennial
Charles Fairbanks, who recently left his job at the councillor’s office to return to Sarnia, ON, bid a fond farewell to our community. Charles had been regularly attending our CCRA board meetings, and he was also very supportive of our special events. He will be missed. His goodbye letter to our board was so complimentary. I’d like to close off my report by sharing some of his kind words about our community with you:
“Growing up in a small town, it was a lovely surprise to see the same kind of care and dedication to community like you do in Centennial. I wasn’t expecting to be reminded of home in the GTA of all places!”