Pilon: Nothing illegal about west-end business

by Irene Chwalkowski

VAUDREUIL-DORION - West end resident Mike Weil came to council's second question period Monday night brandishing photographs of what he claims is illegal activity on the part of a neighbourhood entrepreneur.

Weil said a fleet of four Ford vans belonging to Johnson Irrigation congregates every morning on Bernard St. to transfer material from one van to the other, making the cul-de-sac a hazard for children walking to their school bus. Weil contends that the owner of Johnson Irrigation is not merely parking his own van at his home overnight, but that he operates out of a home office.

"There are always two vans parked overnight," Weil said. He also says that there is material stocked in the garage that employees driving the vans pick up every morning. "We have more than a dozen kids under the age of 10 on our street. And the vans, with their trailers, back up on the street ­ right where my kids walk to get to the school bus," Weil said.

Weil said he took out his tape measure and measured the height, length and width of the vans. Comparing figures he found on the Internet regarding their vans, he said that the size of the Ford vans is illegal in residential zones and should be banned by the municipality.

Mayor Guy Pilon said that the acceptable size of the vans actually measure the interior of the cab, and not the entire van. He also said inspections of the premises had been made and that nothing contravening municipal bylaws could be found.

"We sent in two people to inspect the premises and they showed up without warning. They searched the house and did not find any material. But we'll look into it again and see what we can do," Pilon said.

Pilon said that a ban on these vans meant that about 200 other vans of the same type used by entrepreneurs in Vaudreuil-Dorion would have to be banned as well. "They even use these type of vehicles for the transport of handicapped people," said Pilon.

Johnson Irrigation is not a stranger to neighbourhood conflict. The company ran a spectacular sound and light show at Christmas two years ago, raising thousands of dollars for the Montreal Children's Hospital. Neighbours were upset at the amount of traffic generated on the street and the brightness and loudness of the event. They petitioned council who responded by fining the company. Johnson Irrigation moved their light show to St. Lazare last Christmas.

After receiving one request from a restaurant to install an exterior terrasse, council approved a zoning change for an entire commercial section that will facilitate the installation of terrasses by various businesses while adhering to strict rules such as noise and loud music.

Council approved the zoning change for the intersection of André-Chartrand Ave. and Cité-des-Jeunes Boul. from "medium and high density residential" to "urban commercial." A public consultation was held on both zoning changes prior to the council meeting which was attended by one person.

Tenders have been deposited with council for the construction of a parking lot in Valois Park, and the re-paving of tennis courts in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste sector. $1 million has been allocated for the parking lot.

In other council news, Pilon announced that Boul. Saint Charles would be closed along its entire length this coming Saturday for road inspection. Two alternate routes will divert traffic from the area during this day-long operation.

A couple of complaints were made about the difficulty of driving through narrowed streets this winter. "We had an exceptional winter. We didn't target anyone. It snowed on everybody," Pilon said.

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Lost retainer sparks DIY garbage search

by Nick Mayes

ST. LAZARE ­ When Marlene Crotty returned home last Wednesday evening, she was dumfounded to find her 12 year old daughter Emily in the garage sorting through five bags of school garbage looking for her lost dental retainer.

Emily lost her retainer sometime around lunchtime on Wednesday, and like any kid, she was nervous about telling her mom about it and went to the school's office to ask for help.

According to Crotty, her daughter had been instructed by Forest Hill Senior's school secretary to take the garbage home and look for her retainer.

"She even told her, your mom will thank you," Crotty added.

Worse, Emily and her older sister had a lift home with a friend and one of the bags leaked garbage juice in the back of the car. "My older daughter was horrified because when they took out all of the bags it was leaking all over the place. She was really embarrassed."

Crotty sent an email to Forest Hill Senior's Principal, Mark Klein and phoned Marilyn Miller, director of Lester B. Pearson School Board's Sector 2. Klein returned her call on Thursday morning and apologized for both the incident and any embarrassment or mess the garbage may have caused.

He told the Hudson/St.Lazare Gazette on Thursday the incident was an "ill advised but well intentioned move,"?adding that "in this instance, the parent is completely right to be upset.

"It should never have happened, you don't send something home without the consent of a parent," Klein added.

"We're really terribly sorry about the whole event, it was a real error of judgement. She was concerned about the kid who was really nervous," he continued in reference to the fact that Emily wasn't looking forward to informing her mother about losing the expensive dental fixture.

"The child came to us and said, 'My mom is going to kill me, I have to find this thing!' and the only way of finding it was by going through the garbage and the parent has to OK that," Forest Hill Senior's principal said.

According to Klein, students losing retainers is far from a rare occurrence at Forest Hill or any school for that matter. The usual procedure, the principal explained, is to phone the student's parents when it is believed the item, be it glasses or retainers, has been accidentally thrown in the garbage. They are given the choice as to whether they want to go through the refuse or bite the bullet and simply buy a new one.

According to Klein, many people are more than happy to sift through the trash. "We say we'll keep the garbage for a day and you have the option. Some people say no thank you, but when it's a matter of $600 or $800 they often go for it," he said.

Crotty is still shaking her head. "I'm vice president of the Home and School and I called the president last night and I asked her if I was going insane, or is this really bad. She said it's absurd that anybody would even think of such a thing. If she would have cut herself she could have got hepatitis."

Despite a smelly mess in her mom's garage and a valiant search, Emily's retainer has still yet to materialize. According to her mom, Emily's orthodontist is making another one.

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Hudson adopts interim traffic-calming measures

by Nick Mayes

HUDSON - Traffic calming was the big item on Monday's May council agenda.
From a preliminary list of 14 traffic hotspots located in last year's Genivar traffic survey, council approved nine locations for stop signs, planters, speed humps and crosswalks, to be installed as soon as possible, including:
· A stop sign at Fairhaven on Upper Cameron after Cameron is repaved;
· Widening of Côte St. Charles at Windcrest and installation of a central planter;
· A stop sign at Hillcrest/Charleswood off Côte St. Charles;
· Widening of Main Road from the Chipman's Point curve to Montée Manson and installation of a central planter;
· A raised intersection or elongated speed hump at Royal Oak on Main Road;
· An elongated speed hump between Aspen and Roslyn off Main Road;
· A raised intersection at Brisbane and Main;
· A raised crosswalk at Main Road and Thompson Park;
· A three-way stop sign at Main Road and Montée Lavigne.
The list approved at Monday's council meeting did not include several proposals recommended by the town's technical services department, including:
· A planter, crosswalk and no-stopping signs at the west end of the St. Thomas school property, an area used by patrons of several local restaurants;
· A planter and signage at the south end of the Westwood High School zone;
· A three-way stop at Aspen and Main;
· A three-way stop at Brisbane and Main.
"Installing stop signs is a cheaper [alternative than] other traffic calming measures, but abusing stop signs turns into disrespect and inefficiency of the device," the technical services recommendations noted.
Mayor Elizabeth Corker also acknowledged receipt of a letter from Transports Quebec simplifying the process by which municipalities can lower their speed limits. Before, she said, it took a decree that might or might not be granted.
· · ·
Results of the recent Hudson retail survey will be presented to merchants at a closed-door meeting tomorrow evening, then again to a focus group of residents Friday morning and finally to the media Friday afternoon, said Susan Kennedy, volunteer co-ordinator for the business advisory committee. David Morton, the councillor now co-ordinating the project, said few merchants had RSVP'd the committee, but hoped most would attend the Thursday evening session.
Mayor Corker indicated that the new master plan would be based in part on what the downtown revitalization project comes up with. "Parking, signage, density in the downtown core and setbacks" will all be addressed in the new master plan, she said.
The municipality has been under pressure from local merchants to pass a bylaw requiring that street-level commercial space be reserved for retail purposes. To deal with the issue, the town earmarked $35,000 to hire Toronto's J.C. Williams and its subsidiary, Urban Marketing Collaborative. The survey, workshops and focus groups are all part of trying to reach a consensus on how best to redesign the downtown core after the sewer project is concluded and to address issues such as parking and attracting a mix of businesses that residents say they'll support.
· · ·
Council adopted a motion granting an extended medical leave of absence to Councillor Bob Parkinson. Normally, a municipality is required to hold a byelection if a councillor is unable to continue his or her duties a year or more prior to a municipal election, but this makes it unnecessary.
· · ·
With fewer than half of the kids currently attending the Treehouse Child Care Centre from Hudson, there's no question of the town supplying more land for a second public daycare, Mayor Corker said. She was commenting on enrolment figures from the Treehouse indicating that 48 percent of the kids at the Treehouse and 39 percent of those on the waiting list are from Hudson. (See editorial, Page 8)
· · ·
The old stable and carriage shed next to the technical services building at 64 Cedar is to be demolished and turned into a parking lot. As well, the town is acquiring the property at 91 Mount Pleasant.
· · ·
The next phase of the Sandy Beach Nature Park can't proceed until the municipality gets the green light to build on a flood plain from the provincial environment ministry. Council resolved to mandate Planex to submit the necessary documentation.
· · ·
Council approved the final adoption of a $630,000 loan bylaw for the construction of the main sewer outfall between Wharf Road and Hudson Yacht Club.
· · ·
The Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC has approved the town's proposed rezoning of the new R-9, the parcel of land destined to become the new CRL continuing-care seniors' complex bounded by Côte St. Charles, Oakland and Hillside, with primary access off Côte Road.
· · ·
Council approved an agreement with the developer of the UK1 residential project off Como Gardens that will see a third of the total area turned into a conservation zone, including walking trails. The TPAC has recommended a preliminary subdivision of the parcel into 14 lots.
· · ·
Questions from residents at the opening and closing question periods included concerns about unmuffled motorcycles and scooters (Corker pointed out that the SQ, not the town, has jurisdiction) and concern that the new master plan will be approved without adequate public consultation.

How do our municipal websites rate?
Our web guru weighs in

by Nick Mayes

How do our municipal websites measure up? We asked Hudson/St.Lazare Gazette columnist and an experienced website developer Ashley Cotter-Cairns to rate the websites of Hudson, Vaudreuil-Dorion, St. Lazare and Pincourt for ease of navigation, visual presentation, information provided and effectiveness. We also threw in one commercial website for good measure, just to see how it would measure up.
The Town of Pincourt's website www.villepincourt.qc.ca is the newest, having been relaunched following an extensive reconstruction just last Wednesday.
According to Cotter-Cairns, Pincourt's new site offers a lot in the way of information. Assessment rolls for accessing information about property taxes for both the public and professional access are posted on the site. Bus schedules and CIT route information for traveling to neighboring municipalities including Hudson are also displayed in plain sight. There are tabs for linking quickly to information about the town's library, notices concerning road works in progress around town and a public safety page also posted on the town's home page. The Pincourt home page offers a list of current news, information and notices in PDF format. There is also an up-to-date calendar of events.
A public notice alerting residents to the dangers associated with Young-Do propane tank valves topped the list of news items posted last Friday. Instructions on how to properly place your recycling bins to ensure pickup were also included, as were notices informing residents of by-law 717-24 and the referendum determining the zoning of Zone H1-10.
The website features notices posted to alert residents to the fact that town works will be servicing its fire hydrants and water mains soon and informing Pincourt's citizens that as a result, some houses may experience a drop in water pressure. PDF files of the town's publication for the past four months are also available, displayed near the bottom right hand corner of the screen. The town's 2008 budget is also posted for all to see.
Cotter-Cairns noted that while the initial template of Pincourt's new site is well designed and pleasing to the eye, the content rarely carries over onto the content pages which he referred to as "sparse and seldom illustrated". He also noted that the Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette was not listed as one of the local papers that covers news in the town. (We cover it more thoroughly than any of the competition).
He continued by describing the style of menus the site uses as "fiddly and offputting", particularly for people who may be new internet users and "annoying" for habitual web users. "It probably cost a lot to put the website together, but content is generally more important than design, a mistake most people spending somebody else's money tend to overlook."

Next came our pace vehicle. Cotter-Cairns described the promotional website www.hudsonquebec.com as an "excellent commercial website" with only a few "minor design issues". The site successfully does what it was designed to do, "pulling together local businesses and other resources" about the town. Despite his enthusiastic review of the site, Cotter-Cairns was careful to point out that comparing this website with the other official town portals may not be fair. Even government websites at the municipal level are according to him, bound by restrictions.
Not so for Hudson's newly redesigned offficial town portal. Cotter-Cairns said www.ville.hudson.qc.ca has made use of design features that in his opinion will date the site quickly. The use of an events calendar, on Hudson's site is according to him, "old hat and a recipe for disaster" because of the constant maintenance they require to remain pertinent. "I'd bet this will be overlooked or neglected in time, which will give the website a dead, unused feel," he said. Hudson's official site according to Cotter-Cairns is clean and colourful in its design, but lacking. He used the word "sterile" to describe it.
He was also quite critical of the website's lack of means for people to interact. The site has plenty of information but lacks in email addresses and telephone numbers. According to our web guru, Hudson's town portal is lacking in meta-information, meaning that the site won't get the traffic it should.
Cotter-Cairns described St. Lazare's town website www.ville.saint-lazare.qc.ca, as "truly horrible." His main criticism seems to be with the page's load speed and lack of an English option before it has loaded. (All the other sites had that option, with the exception of Vaudreuil-Dorion which was lacking in English altogether. )
According to Cotter-Cairns, the St. Lazare site uses inconvenient pop-up menus which allow the mouse to obscure text when you are trying to navigate to adjoined pages. He also criticized the site's use of "tiny, ugly photos," describing them as an attempt to distract the user's eye before the information needed is offered. The site doesn't use enough photos, makes use of "lazy workarounds on tables where images are used gratuitously instead."
He did however acknowledge the site's effort in terms of using relevant keywords. Our resident website developer's overall assessment of St. Lazare's electronic portal: "A poor user experience all round which would never survive if it had to compete commercially."
Because of the fact that Vaudreuil-Dorion's website ville.vaudreuil-dorion.qc.ca is unilingual French, Cotter-Cairns declined to comment on content. He did however remark that the site is too reliant upon attachments, noting that "almost every piece of information is attached as a PDF file." The trouble with this format is the slow speed with which these attachments open and the fact that they take away from the accessibility of the site's information because some users may be unfamiliar with the application.
Cotter-Cairns said Vaudreuil-Dorion's website uses a template that was almost certainly designed by a commercial website design company specializing in closing sales, rather than providing easy access to information. He says the way in which the site navigates between pages is a telltale sign. Users of Vaudreuil-Dorion's website are in his words, "funneled" between pages as though being directed deliberately towards a purchase. It's a technique better suited to commercial websites set up for online shopping rather than municipal portals where the purpose is to access information about what's going on around town.
"Some pages are hugely over-long and others have barely two lines of text with an attachment," Cotter-Cairns said.
His conclusion? In a commercial world, HudsonQuebec.com "would wipe the floor with the others." Pincourt's new site, Villepincourt.qc.ca, may be able to hold its own and ville.hudson.qc.ca, "would survive, but struggle". The remaining two, ville.vaudreuil-dorion.qc.ca and www.ville.saint-lazare.qc.ca from Cotter-Cairns' description, "would die a slow, painful death."

Champetre residents bemoan foot-dragging

by Nick Mayes

ST. LAZARE - Allison Kidd and her Champetre St. neighbours thought they were on their way to a solution to the through traffic using their street as a shortcut.
On April 21, 2007, they installed their own traffic-calming measures - traffic cones and picket lines - to send a message to the municipality that they would no longer tolerate the speeding and stop-sign burning that had become regular occurrences in their neighbourhood.
Their weekend protest went public on the front page of that week's Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette.
More than a year later, they're profundly disgusted and disillusioned with the Town of St. Lazare's failure to make traffic calming a priority.
"I've been to some of the meetings and I just ended up walking out frustrated," Kidd told the Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette last week. "I've been bugging them for the better part of five years now and nothing has happened except for the fact that they put in a couple of stop signs two years ago."
Even if the town did put in stops along Champetre, people aren't paying attention to them. According to Kidd, drivers routinely drive straight through the intersection without even touching the brakes.
"The SQ were here last week giving out tickets because people were blowing the stop signs," she said. "One of the officers told me that a driver had said to him, 'don't you have anything better to do than hand out tickets? 'Can you believe it?" she asked.
As a result of the pressure and negative publicity, the town did install some seasonal traffic calming devices around the town. On Champetre, white lines were painted on the road to give the illusion that the road was narrowing. According to Kidd, these particular measures on her street have had a negligible effect and traffic routinely speeds along the road. "People are still driving like maniacs," she said.
Residents of Champetre have tried everything to calm traffic along their road, including parking their vehicles on the street in what amounted to a futile attempt to slow traffic by taking up space in the road. At one point, according to Kidd, a group of residents on her street, frustrated with the inaction of the town, discussed paying for and installing their own signs and speed bumps.
What Kidd would like to see along Champetre are speed bumps, enough of them to actually slow traffic. Kidd notes that almost every house on her street has at least two kids who play outside and sometimes actually on the road itself, when the weather warms up.
"All it takes is a split second for a kid to go into the road,"?she said. "At six or seven in the evening, kids are on their bikes, playing soccer and basketball."
As for her own children, Kidd said she doesn't even let them play in the front of the house just in case the ball ends up bouncing into the street.
In Kidd's opinion, Mayor Paul Carzoli and the town are dragging their feet on the issue. "I've been to Coffee Talk with the mayor, e-mailed countless times and produced two petitions that I presented to council. I've even put small traffic cones out when the kids are playing near the street. Nothing seems to be working. The whole point of moving out here is to live peacefully, to get away from the traffic and the dangers of the city," said Kidd.
Councillor Michel St Louis, who quit Carzoli's party to sit as an independent in his frustration over the mayor's inaction on traffic-calming issues, didn't return calls.
Councillor Chico Levy, whose disputes with the mayor are legendary, mocked the town's inaction even as it borrows millions to pave more roads. "Apparently in St. Lazare, our policy is to only think about traffic calming devices once a street has been paved," he said.
At last month's council meeting, several residents argued that the town should consider installing traffic calming measures as an integral part of the paving authorization.

GoGreen Hudson gets $1,000 grant

HUDSON ­ All seven members of GoGreen Hudson, the town's homegrown environmental committee, were at the Stephen J. Shaar community centre Monday morning to accept a $1000 grant from the provincial government.
Vaudreuil MNA Yvan Marcoux prefaced the presentation by remarking that the group has only been in existence since February, 2007, but in that time has already organized several successful seminars, Earth Day events and worked to raise awareness about both environmental issues in general and concerns specific to Hudson.
Marcoux addressed the group within the Hudson context, making reference to the town being the first in Canada to successfully impose a ban on cosmetic pesticide use.
GoGreen Hudson members told Marcoux that pesticide use on the town's golf courses was a major concern for the committee and explained that the group plans to continue its work with local schools and the importance of those interventions.
"It's not a major contribution," Marcoux was overheard telling several members apologetically minutes before the conference began. "It is for us ­ this is our first grant," one GoGreen member responded.
The event was extremely informal and Marcoux took the time to speak with the group about their plans for future initiatives and projects. GoGreen members told Marcoux the committee plans to use at least part of the money to subsidize composers for distribution to Hudson homes. GoGreen's Chantal Girard mentioned the fact that the composers were a priority because it has been demonstrated in other municipalities that the bins can reduce individual household waste output by up to 50 percent.
The group also took the opportunity to talk about their new website, gogreenhudson.ca, which is a useful resource page for information about how and where to responsibly dispose of dangerous household items, clothing and even cars.
GoGreen Hudson plans to organize more open forum talks by inviting speakers to town as part of its general awareness campaign. Though the individual in the process of being booked has yet to be named, GoGreen is saying a date in June has been put aside for one of these conferences.
As a long terms goal, GoGreen Hudson organizers mentioned their plan to approach the town about the possibility of creating a bike path stretching the entire length of Main Rd., making cycling the route safer and encouraging people to leave their vehicles at home. With the sewer project well underway and the fact that there will eventually be a need to resurface the road, what better time is there to install a bicycle path, said GoGreen Hudson member Helen Henshaw.
The group wants to convince local retailers to reduce or stop handing out plastic bags and to begin initiatives to increase the volume of leaves that are composted every autumn and recycle Christmas trees. The MRC's two garden waste pick-ups last autumn were insufficient, according to the committee. This coming autumn, the town of Hudson will be organizing an information sessions about composting yard waste and the group hopes to be taking part in the event.
The group's other environmental causes include everything from idling school buses choking up playgrounds with diesel fumes for no reason to the committee's struggle with Canada Post to place recycling bins in its postal stations and kiosks.
"It started as an idea to organize community events and actions and it's growing," Girard said.

Vandalism spree suspects nabbed red-handed

The Sûreté du Québec arrested four minors in the throes of a vandalism spree that is believed to have stretched from the other side of the Ontario border to St. Zotique in the wee hours of Friday morning.

The four youths were caught driving around in a white car, that had been previously fingered as the one driven by the individuals thought to be responsible for previous acts of vandalism and the theft of items from cars in at least five municipalities. Inside the car, police found stolen goods, estimated to be within the area of $2000. Police also recovered a steel bar the group used to smash car windows and mirrors, damage that police estimate at $8000.

"It wasn't something that happened a bunch of times," Lieutenant Francis Oliver of the SQ's western detachment for Vaudreuil-Soulange told the Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette yesterday. "It happened in one night. It was a group of kids who were amusing themselves by breaking car windows and stealing things out of them. The patrol cars were in the area and located the vehicle driven by the suspects."

The four people arrested are believed to be responsible for 14 active cases of theft and vandalism in Coteau du Lac, Rivière-Beaudette, St-Clet, St. Polycarpe and St. Zotique and police believe the gang may be responsible for additional incidents in Beauharnois-Salaberry and eastern Ontario. Police also suspect that some of the incidents have yet to be reported.

In a similar but unrelated case, police in Vaudreuil-Dorion are investigating another incident that took place last Friday night in which five vehicles, four of them at the same address, were vandalized by having a corrosive liquid poured over them. Police estimate the damage at around $1500 per vehicle.

Last Thursday, police patrolling Highway 40 in Vaudreuil-Dorion, stopped a truck sought in a hit and run incident and found 44 cases of contraband cigarettes. The SQ is crediting citizen cooperation for making the seizure possible.

O'Keefe's latest documentary
on History Channel

If you happen to miss St. Lazare historian David O'Keefe's newest WWII documentary, Bloody Normandy, on History Television this week, you'll have a chance to catch it next Monday, May 12 here in Hudson.
Last April O'Keefe presented his gripping documentary Black Watch: Massacre at Verrières Ridge to a large and enthralled group of Hudson Historical Society members. At that time he mentioned that he was working once again with producer Wayne Abbott on another video program about the war.
On Monday, May 12, the Hudson Historical Society is pleased to welcome back David, with Bloody Normandy, the story of Canadian infantrymen during the last year of the war, told in a similar fashion to Black Watch: Massacre at Verrières Ridge.
Bloody Normandy follows Canadian infantry veterans from various regiments right from the landings on Juno Beach, to the heroic stand at Putot-en-Bessin, the killing fields of Les Mesnil Patry, the Mouen Massacre, Verrieres Ridge, the Falaise pocket, and much, much more.
This programme highlights the experiences of the vets rather than focus on the details of particular battles. The programme is fast-paced and quite moving. David O'Keefe worked as writer, historian and assistant director on this project.
The Hudson Historical Society meeting takes place on Monday, May 12, at 7:30 pm at Saint James Church Hall. Everyone is welcome.

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Child-abuse message wins top photography award

RIGAUD - The child portrait that garnered him first place in the 2008 Professional Photographers of Canada National Image Competition isn't the first award Stephane Lariviere has received for his photographic work, but for the master photographer, it may represent his most coveted win to date.
The menacing blue-tinted black and white shot is meant to convey the horror of child abuse, the terror on the face of the little girl as she clutches her teddy bear stronger than words.
"It doesn't touch me personally," he explained in reference to the winning photo's dark and dramatic subject matter. "When we create images for the competition, it's different from what we create for our clients. You have to try and go a little bit further."?
Lariviere's success in past competitions won him the distinction of Craftsman of Photographic Arts and Master of Photographic Arts. "Over the years we have participated in a whole series of these competitions and been successful in winning a few of them but this was the most prestigious by far," he told the Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette.
According to Lariviere, to win the competition you have to take both subject matter and technique to the extreme.
"We try to even disturb the judges, present images that are visually striking and perhaps even disturbing and push the limits. I ry to find a subject that isn't taboo but something that you don't see all of the time. Something that will cause a bit of a commotion," he said.
Lariviere entered the same photo in a Quebec competition but failed to garner the acclaim he hoped. His achievement at the national level made it all worthwhile. "I was a finalist, but another photograph won. That's alright, it's part of the game so we presented it to the national competition and, surprise we won! We finished first."
He's entering his photo in an international competition, the famous Lucy Awards, and hoping his photo will sway the competition's panel in the same way it did the Canadian judges.
"We'll see how it goes," Lariviere said philosophically, "I submitted it because I believe in the quality of the image. I think the subject that it conveys is international in nature, aggression towards children, it doesn't have any borders and the photo should have an impact."
Lariviere said his four-year-old daughter was delighted by both the opportunity to model and her part in the win. "It's funny, after we took the photo, she told me, 'I'm sure we're going to win," he said with a laugh. "I told her we'd have too wait and see."
Lariviere concedes that manipulating the image after the fact is a reality in the digital age, but insists the real mastery of the technique still derives from the old photographic principles, including use of lighting, contrast, balance and colour.
"There weren't that many alterations or touch ups done to the photo in comparison with other images," he explained. "The black and white and blue and black were used to create a more dramatic effect and give the image of the little girl a bit more impact.
"There's a technique and there was a certain amount of retouching in the photo," he explained. "We've been using digital since 2002 and nowadays we deal with photo editing suites like Photoshop and all the other aids that are available to us."

Evergreen Elementary
Evergreen Elementary School has planned key events for the month of May. On May 9, there will be a school wide "Jump Rope for Heart" to promote a healthy lifestyle. On May 15, school administrators and staff will recognise the need for parent involvement with a Volunteer Tea.

Forest Hill Elementary
A Forest Hill Elementary team will be participating in the Canadian Cancer Society's fifth annual Relay for Life Walk at the Base de Plein Air Les Cèdres May 30. Forest Hill staff members (Junior & Senior) and friends will be taking part in the all-night walk to raise money for cancer research. The team is called Les Bretelles Incroyables -The Incredible Suspenders; show your school spirit and support them in their walk!
The End of Year BBQ is fast approaching and planning is now underway! We need many volunteers for all sorts of fun activities.
Forest Hill is issuing a new challenge to the students; garbage-free lunches with compostable scraps and reusable or recyclable containers.
To all of the musicians who performed in the Solo Concert on April 17: We had a wonderful evening. Congratulations and Thank You!! Don't forget that May 20 is the Grade 4 Spring Musical.
Grad Madness ­ Crazy Hatters May 14; for the price of a loonie, wear your crazy creation and support your Graduating class! Remember, the class with the most Crazy Hatters wins!

Mount Pleasant
On Monday, May 5th (in case of rain Monday, May 12th) Mount Pleasant is pleased present their second annual Music Monday, a fun-filled outdoor afternoon of music performed by their students. The celebration will begin with an outdoor picnic at 11:15 a.m. then an afternoon musical concert which will end at 2:05 p.m.
This year the Mount Pleasant Volunteer Tea will be held on May 26th. We would like to extend our appreciation to ALL our volunteers

Orée du Bois
La DICTÉE PAUL-GÉRIN-LAJOIE a permis de récolter 4 872,02$. La moitié de cette somme sera versée à la fondation P.G.L. pour le soutien aux écoles d'Haïti et d'Afrique. L'autre moitié servira à l'achat de matériel pédagogique pour les classes. Merci à tous pour votre soutien et votre encouragement
Les étudiants et leurs efforts ont amassés un montant de 15 013,07 $ en fonds pour les activites d'ecole. Mille mercis pour le soutien et les encouragements des familles et de la communauté.

St.Thomas
Plantation d'arbres a l'école le 11 juin ­ nous avons besoin des bénévoles!!
Suite à la dicté P.G.L. l'école St-Thomas remettra un chèque de 4912, 18$ à la Fondation Paul Guérin Lajoie. Félicitations aux étudiants et aux profs qui ont organisé l'activité pour l'école, Manon Ménard et Ginette Simard
Nos professeurs sont tout conscience de l'environnement et leur sante, mais nous aimerons féliciter nos amateurs de vélo!

Six professeurs avec une conscience. Une Journée de la Terre sans voitures. Damien Tremblay, Marie Préfontaine, Hélène Bradette, Pascale Fournier Coutu, Ginette Simard - Absente de la photo, Suzie Breton (à cause des blessures).

Westwood, Junior/Senior
As in past years, Westwood will be raising awareness and funds for the Canadian Cancer Society
On May 13, at the Junior Campus we will be promoting Breast Cancer Day with our annual Denim Day ­we ask students to donate 1$ or more for research so we may help to find a cure.
A team of 14 members from the Junior & Senior Campuses will be participating in the Canadian Cancer Society's fifth annual Relay for Life Walk at the Base de Plein Air Les Cèdres May 30. This will be our fifth year participating in this all night event. Since cancer never sleeps, neither will our team members! Our ALL STARS team's goal is to raise a minimum of 1400$. We are counting on your support and generous donations.
Congratulations to our Double Juvenile Team, Michelle Bauer and Katie Wilks, who won silver in the GMAA Badminton Tournament
The GMAA Curling Championship was held at the Royal Montreal Curling Club, the oldest curling club in North America. Although Westwood High had finished in second place during the regular season, in the playoff final Westwood was victorious. Congratulations to the team: Kim Bubenko, Andrew Brooks, Emily Sincennes, Melanie Maclean, Patrick Renaud, Alex Mahomad, Colin Maclean, Tyler Gordon and Kevin Shanahan. Special thanks to coaches Bill Sansom and Rob Maclean and also to the Royal Canadian Legion for the use of their curling facilities.
Westwood has other events planned for the month such as the annual Senior Fashion Show on May 8, the Athletic Banquet on May 22 and the Senior Award Evening on May 27
We are looking for parent volunteers for the light refreshment reception that traditionally follows Westwood's graduation ceremony on Tuesday, June 3rd at John Abbott College. Please call Loraine Tibbit (514-798-4900) for additional details
The Secondary I Concert Band, Secondary III Concert Band, and the Senior Concert Band will be competing once again May 12 through May 14 at the MusicFest Canada National Competition in Ottawa and we want to wish all three the best of luck.
Lastly, on May 15 come and enjoy the Junior Variety Show. The students have been hard at work perfecting their acts in preparation of a most successful school activity.

Mike Miller, the first principal of the combined Westwood High School junior and senior campuses, is retiring, effective June 30.
"After 36 years working in the field of education of which over 30 have been as a school administrator, I wish to inform you of a most difficult decision that I have taken," Miller wrote in a newsletter to parents.
"Until the end of June I will continue to do my best in completing all the necessary tasks and setting up plans for the upcoming school year and for the new team of administrators that the school board will select," he added. "This decision will be taken at the end of the month and I will let you know of these changes as soon as I have been informed."
2007-2008 marked the fifth school year since Westwood High School was created out of the former Hudson High School and the new Westwood Junior High School in St. Lazare, he noted.
"This unique situation has indeed been an unusual challenge, a challenge which I found to be exciting and rewarding. In the beginning some of the community was uncertain of this new set-up but I have found over the past five years that more and more of our stakeholders have grown to appreciate the uniqueness of each campus. Westwood has much to be proud of and continues to grow in its commitment to student success.
"I would like to thank all of our students who make each day special and to their parents for their support over these past five years," Miller's resignation announcement concluded. "This does not suggest that we always agreed but in the end I took decisions that I felt were in the best interest of our student population."

by Sue Winslow-Spragge

At the corner of Main and Côte St-Charles since 1824.
After having been used as a general store until the late 1990's, the building stood empty and gathered dust for several years, and was in danger of deteriorating to an irreparable state. Tim and Elizabeth Snow took the building under their wings, and for a couple of years, made sure it was well cared for, and also that the adjacent plot of land with the "Rhodes" cottage on it could be integrated into the Mullans project going forward.
Ron Laursen had been looking at Mullans for many years, was attracted to its vast history and amazing views of the Lake of Two Mountains. In 2005, Tim and Elizabeth sold the property to Laursen and Susan Kennedy, comforted by the knowledge that they would continue to build on the innate beauty of the building. Ron's musings soon became Ron's and Susan's shared dreams to build a warm, inviting home that would bring back the old charm and architecture of Mullans, and keep the spirit alive and well.
Built almost two hundred years ago by John Augustus Matheson as a schoolhouse, the building has served as a post office, courthouse, church and general store. The extensive grounds that border on the lake have also served as the Hudson Boating Club and Tennis Club.
The transformation that Laursen and Kennedy have made is nothing short of miraculous, and the work is on going. Throughout the original building, a great deal of attention has been paid to historical things. Great care was taken to ensure that the addition (built on the Rhodes cottage land), tied in seamlessly to the original building's charm and character.
In October 2005, they began by literally gutting the main floor. In so doing, they removed six to seven layers of wall and ceiling coverings revealing beautiful, thirty-three inch thick, Quarry Point stone walls, axe-hewn ceiling beams and a wooden ceiling.
Entering the home through the front doors of the addition, the spectacular view of the Lake of Two Mountains overlooking the "New Orleans Terrace" with its colourful flowers and water fountain is breathtaking. Here, an antique side-by-side hutch, dating back four generations in Susan's central Alberta family is featured. Off to the right, the exercise room with a similar view and an elegant cork-coloured bathroom with two-toned dark brown ceramic wall tiles is striking.
The building has been a meeting place for nearly two hundred years and so it was important to Laursen and Kennedy that this tradition be preserved. In the living area of the house, the distressed pine floors compliment the honey-coloured beams and ceiling. The open concept living, dining and kitchen achieves their "meeting place" goal exceptionally well.
At one end of the room are carefully arranged back-to-back sitting areas for TV watching and for curling up in front of the big Irish-designed stone fireplace in oversized chairs and sofas. In the middle of the room is a large dining table or, if the leaves are removed, it transforms the area into an entertainment space with a pool table!
At the far end of the room, is a chef's paradise. Perfect for people who enjoy cooking and entertaining for small or large groups of people, nobody misses out on anything. When drawing up her plans, Kennedy calculated every square inch of this kitchen and used it to advantage. An enviable five by twelve-foot butcher-block island with soapstone cutting board acts as a room divider. An ingenious compost drawer was located under the cutting board. A four-inch deep broom cupboard was added to the end of the darkly stained custom cabinetry. Beside the gas stove is a soapstone pot rest and to avoid losing space to a dish drainer, grooves have been cut out of the Corian countertop beside the sink. Terrific!
The four antique chairs in the sitting areas came from the Champlain Hotel in New York and have just been re-glued, stained and re-caned. Facing what was the original staircase of the house, notice the brilliant painting of St. Paul Street in Old Montreal by Claude Bonneau from Baie-Comeau, Quebec over the piano. At the bottom of the stairs, sits a small drop-leaf table that Susan and Ron made using the newel post from Beverly Rhodes' home that actually stood on the footprint of the new extension of the present house. The "M" burned into the leaves is a copy of the original Mullan's "M" that is also representative of Susan's mother, Marion, Ron's mother, Maureen, his daughter Melissa, or simply all the Memories that live in the house.
The second floor has been carefully separated by the staircase. On one side, the master bedroom suite consists of office, sitting room/bedroom bathroom, all with a wonderful view of the lake. In the office, there is a lovely pair of framed photographs of Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia, taken by Susan and an original charcoal drawing by a well-known Miami Beach area artist. Through the patio doors in the sitting room, an outside staircase allows easy access to the hot tub at the main floor level below. A stunning mirrored ensuite bathroom with dark floor and custom dark cabinets the oversized shower and soaker tub. The mirrored folding doors discretely hide a bright laundry area and do double duty by obstructing street noise.
On the other side of the staircase is a self-contained apartment including a small living room, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and another bed/sitting room with fireplace. Susan and Ron did all the faux paint finishes here, always being aware of the 'feel' they emitted (except in Ron's daughter's room!) Throughout this part of the house, the beautiful old maple hardwood flooring still exists.
French doors in the lower level of the original building allow easy access to the lakeside of the property. Here, the massive stone foundations and the enormous twenty-inch cedar logs supporting the floor above can be seen. Plans are already in place to re-locate the ever-growing Hudson Historical Society's artifacts here, and to use it for another gathering place where great music and stories can be heard as evidenced by the stage.
All in all, twenty-five dumpsters have been removed from this property so far, representing a tremendous amount of time, thought, work and muscle. This home still radiates an older feel, but it has been smartly repainted and shined up so it shows beautifully.

Isn't it amazing how in one week the spring can go from the ponies walking over the fences on Monday to building rivers across the paddocks and arena for to accommodate run-off on Wednesday to no snow and ice and dust in the arena by the weekend and green grass the following Monday? This year we bypassed the mud season thanks to some paddock planning and new footing for the arena last summer. Unfortunately, as the snow melts off the fences, we can now see how many repairs we need to make. At least it will help keep me from letting the portable lawnmowers into the pastures too early. There's still lots of clean up to do.
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I'm not the only one excited about spring. It seems like lots of people are cleaning and oiling their tack and heading into the sunshine with their fine shedding friends. The Monts et Vallons à Cheval held a Café TACK on Sunday, April 6 in Rigaud. Along with new and used tack for sale, there was a mini conference with four presenters.
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Catherine Larose spoke about the importance of hoof care and natural trimming ("the mustang trim") for your best friend's health. You can check out her web site at www.servicesequus.homestead.com <http://www.servicesequus.homestead.com/> . First aid for horses was presented by Dre. Jennifer Jobin of West End Equine Veterinary Service, www.jobinvet.com. Assessing wounds and priorizing the care needed in emergency situations along with what can be done on your own and what to do until the veterinarian arrives was covered. Marie-Andrée Larocque, an equine and pet food consultant with Agribrands Purina Canada Inc. spoke about nutrition and horse health.
The fourth speaker, Carol Lacroix,(www.licornedoree.com spoke about natural horsemanship. "Natural horsemanship isn't a technique but a way of life." It's about developing a relationship with your horse and learning to be the leader in a herd of two. It encourages the horse to think and to react in a calm, trusting manner.
The tack swap was a great way to meet up with other horse people and have a cup of coffee and swap a few stories. There are lots of events planned for this year including trail rides May 4, saddle and driving July 19, August 17, Terry Fox ride September 14, and the Festival of Colours October 12. The club is also planning a trip to Equine Affaire November 13 to 16. Call Richard Brunet, 450 456-9679 or Yan Doyon, 450 459-4639 for further information.
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Since the St. Lazare Carriage Driving Club Beginners' Driving Clinic March 29 and 30 was so popular, another clinic will be held May 17 and 18 and a ground work clinic will be held June 7 and 8. For information and registration, call Carol Ann Mills, 613 874-1321 or Yves Gour, 450 455-0794. The SLCDC recreational drive will be June 14, the schooling show June 27 to 29 and the pleasure driving show September 13.
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There will be a Natural Horsemanship clinic at Rappenhof Trakehner Stud in St. Lazare. Level 1 Beginner May 22 ­ 23 and level 1 Advanced May 24 ­ 25. There is not much space left for riders to take their horses, but it is possible to audit the clinic. For more information, contact Kari Bowser, 514 808-2050, or Maria Desroches, 450 459-4508 .
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Meanwhile, back at the ranch (so to speak), Sandy Knudsen, owner of Sandy's Saddlery in Ste. Anne de Prescott, Ontario invited horse people to an information meeting Friday April 18 to let everyone know what she is planning with the new Countyview Equestrian Centre opening soon. They are planning on erecting a large indoor arena to compliment a newly renovated barn. Along with Sandy Brunner, from Switzerland, they will be offering boarding, lessons, training, showing, breeding and sales. Check her website: countyviewequestriancentre.com.
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I'm sure there are a lot more events coming up. Please let me know. Back to my spring exercise program (ie. cleaning paddocks). By the way, if anyone needs horse manure for their garden....

by Nick Mayes

Last Monday morning, my 20-year-old Volvo pooped out on me just as I was approaching the Ile aux Tourtes bridge and I was forced to find an alternative to the 90-minute commute I have been struggling with for the past nine months. What was initially a crisis on Monday had turned into a radical change in lifestyle by Thursday.
I bought the car last summer for $800 when I started working at the Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette and it got me through the past winter and started every morning, no matter how cold it was, so I really can't complain. In nine months I put over 35,000 kilometers on the odometer of that vehicle and by the time I had given up on my beloved car, it had clocked over 300,000 kilometres. It is now going to be recycled for parts.
I live in Outremont, which is a long way from Hudson. My commute by car these days has only been made possible by the fact that on both my way to and from work, I am going the opposite direction from the vast majority of commuters. I have always had a policy of owning vehicles only when I really require the use of them but while I jumped at the chance to take the job at the newspaper, I'll admit to being reluctant to give up my urban lifestyle. I like where I work and I like where I live. It's just really too bad the two are such a distance apart.
When I was first offered the job here, I naively looked forward to the prospect of being able to take the train to Hudson every morning. At the time, all I knew about Hudson was the fact that there was a rail line running through it and the town had one of Quebec's prettiest examples of late 19th century Canadian railway station architecture. I still think it was a fair assumption on my part but after riding my bike down to Lucien-Lallier station on the morning of my job interview, I found out that it was not going to be. The man in the kiosk actually laughed at me for thinking I was going to be able to make it out to Hudson every morning on the train. I got discouraged and gave up on the idea until last Monday.
I bought a car instead and have burned anywhere in the neighborhood of $350 to $400 in gas a month ever since. I wasn't filling the tank with premium either. So on Monday morning, with gas prices in my neighborhood just shy of $1.40 a litre in town and after sputtering to a halt on the shoulder of the 40, I made the decision to part ways with my car. I've been lucky with the weather so far and my new commuting routine is proving stress free, money saving, an environmentally sound choice and a great release of stress. Not only do I no longer have to contend with traffic every morning and afternoon, irate drivers, the ever impending possibility of mechanical failure; I am getting in shape and feel like I have greatly improved my quality of life. There are no tailgaters, nobody is honking madly or flipping anybody the bird and despite the fact that I am on a bicycle, I feel safer than I did on Montreal's freeways.
The engineers and train workers I have encountered are friendly, helpful and seem to really love their jobs. They get to know the people who ride their trains, see them every morning and a sort of relationship develops. I already know that veteran conductor Bill Penning loves golf, was in the Bahamas in February and has been working for Canadian Pacific for 38 years. On Monday morning a woman with a folding bike was welcomed back to the train commute by the conductor after a winter of using her car. They spent a few minutes catching up, telling each other what they'd been up to over the long winter months like old friends getting re-acquainted. The train is like a small community and after less than a week, I already feel like I'm becoming a regular.
To be fair, I am leaving the city every morning and going to my job, traveling in the opposite direction from the vast majority of Montreal's west end commuters. I can't speak to what the rail commute experience is like in general, but I can say that my rail and bicycle commute to work so far has been hassle free, more social in nature, less confrontational, and exponentially more relaxing than being behind the wheel.
If you plan to get on the train with your bike and you're not sure how to go about it, just ask one of the other bike toting commuters at the station. I did and I made a friend who I now see every morning. There's a pleasant comradery between cyclists and I'm greeted by my fellow travelers every morning with at least a nod and a smile. The best way to describe the ride to work on the train, is civilized.
The carriages on my 7:05 a.m. train to Vaudreuil station are a bit long in the tooth but they're clean and even their age lends them a bit of character. There is space for four bicycles on each train and you have to board on the first wagon. On any given morning however, there are at least twice that number of bikes in the car. My fellow cyclist commuter, who explained the drill to me on the first day also told me that the conductors on the train I was going to be taking were really nice and don't make a big fuss about extra bikes. In theory, if you're the fifth cyclist to show up, you're supposed to wait for the next train.
My commuting experience is enjoyable but far from perfect. Even with the AMT's promise of more trains, with the price of gas forecast to reach more than two dollars a litre within the next three years, it could be argued that there will come a day soon when the policy of allowing only four bikes per train will prove insufficient. The contraptions that hold the bikes in place are broken and I have made a habit of keeping a bungee cord with me so that my bike doesn't fly out of its mooring like it did on my first day. I like the ride from Vaudreuil station but it would also be convenient if there was a train to Hudson every morning. In the event that it's raining it would be nice to at least have the option of travelling all the way to work. The trains aren't very frequent either. I've only got the option of one train in and one train out of Vaudreuil every day. Returning to Montreal every afternoon, the only options are to leave the station at 4:55 and 7:55 p.m.
Everyday I pass through one of North America's oldest rail corridors, over bridges, past railyards and what was previously the heartland of the Canadian industrial revolution. More to the point, I get to see the traffic along Highway 20, and I can smile to myself, lean back in my faux-leather bench seat, sigh and gloat. When I am more accustomed to the train ride and less fascinated by what is passing by the window, I'm sure I will even take advantage of the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. You can't do that travelling at or over 100 km/h on Highway 40.
The economic advantages of traveling to work by train are even more apparent. My rail pass cost me $133 and allows me to use all of the commuter trains, the metro and bus system for a month. I bought the pass less than a week ago and it has already paid for itself. No more auto insurance, no more maintenance worries, no more buying containers of oil, replacement windshield wipers, washer fluid, replacement bulbs, coolant or any of the other incidental costs associated with owning a car. I haven't even factored the parking tickets into the equation. I plan on taking a ride through the five-kilometre Mont Royal tunnel this weekend, just because I can and I'm curious.
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I'm also lucky enough to have the perfect bike for the purpose of getting from downtown Montreal to Vaudreuil station every morning. It's a 1973 Raleigh "Twenty", so named for the diameter of the wheels. Its got a three-speed Sturmey-Archer hub and is equipped with quick-release levers that allow it to be folded and stowed easily if need be. It's not the fastest bike on the road, but it's nimble, fun to ride and is remarkably easy to get on and off the train. It even has a bright red license plate from the days when the city used to make cyclists register their rides. I left it on as an affectation. The best part about this bike, however, is the fact that it was free. I found it in the garbage on July 1 moving day last year and performed the few repairs it needed. I've always had a soft spot for quirky machines and I loved my Volvo, but I know I love my bike even more.
The ride from Vaudreuil station to the Hudson Gazette along Chemin de l'Anse and Main Rd. takes about 35 minutes. Every morning I get to ride along the river road, feel the breeze coming off the lake and breathe the fresh air that just can't be found in the city. On Monday morning I passed Mr. Joël LeBreton taking out his garbage and waved hello. The nice thing about a bike is that you don't have to pay as much attention to the road as you do in a car. I notice things that I never used to in the nine months I drove my car to work along the same road. The trains are scheduled in such a way that I am afforded a substantial amount of time in both getting to and from the office to Vaudreuil station, so I usually stop and sit on the steps at the water's edge on Chemin de l'Anse. I can watch the water lapping at the shore, remark on how much its level dropped over the weekend or gaze out at the lake and contemplate what a huge body of water it is.
By the time I get to work my heart is pumping. I've been breathing steadily and even without coffee, I am wide awake, my head is clear and I'm ready to get to work. When I bike to Vaudreuil station from Hudson in the evening, I pedal a little faster, get my heart rate up and burn off some of the stress that comes with working at a community newspaper. The sun is setting by the time I arrive at Vaudreuil station in the evening and it's beautiful to see. Usually tired after a long day at work and my ride, I like to sit on the train and relax. I can read, sleep, talk on the phone, have a snack or just stare out the window and see the spring gradually bringing the city to life.
The train isn't like the bus or a car. When I sit on a train platform, hearing the locomotive revving slightly or releasing pressure from its air brakes, it feels like I'm embarking on a long, exciting journey, even if I'm just going home to dinner with my girlfriend. Last Friday night when I boarded the train at Vaudreuil station, I was a little confused about where I was going to put my bike and the conductor told me to put it anywhere I pleased. "The whole wagon is yours,"?he said. There's something magical about having a rail car all to yourself and the feeling becomes magnified when you're on your way home after a busy week.
Maybe you think I'm making too much out of my new commuting routine. I'll admit that I'm proud of the fact that I am now carbon neutral but I'm even more proud of the fact that I no longer have to contend with the stress of owning an automobile in the city. This past winter was rough on everybody but it was particularly hard on those people who need cars and had to park on the street in the city. I can't even begin to describe what it was like. In my case, a minimum 90-minute drive home very often culminated in circling the neighborhood for more than half an hour, looking for a place to park. After three tickets and a tow, I'd had enough.
Above and beyond the health benefits a bike presents in terms of exercise, I have discovered an additional positive aspect. I'll come right out and admit it. I'm a smoker who is trying to cut back and eventually quit. As anyone who is or has been addicted to nicotine will tell you, the biggest obstacle to quitting smoking is stress. I found over the course of the winter that I was smoking more in the car on the way to work than I would the rest of the day and that evening put together. Now, I can't smoke as I bike to Lucien-Lallier in the morning and I can't smoke on the train. The very thought of puffing on a fag with the 35 minute ride ahead of me makes me sick to my stomach.
A friend was poking fun at me the other day, as good friends do, equating me, my bike and my boyish enthusiasm for the twice-daily train excursion, with some sort of PeeWee-Herman-like character. After nine months of driving from Outremont to Hudson, I'm past caring. Laugh all you want. My new bike and train commute makes me feel good about myself, it's fun and I'm getting in shape. I'm unashamedly enthusiastic about it. At Monday's announcement that GoGreen Hudson will be receiving a grant of $1000 from the provincial government I proudly blurted out to Gina Gentile, one of the committee's organizers, that I had ditched my car and now had a carbon neutral footprint. I felt a bit foolish afterwards but I was still proud of the fact.
I have discovered a way to enjoy my trip to work, meet people, reduce my smoking and my stress, save literally hundreds of dollars a month, relish the chance to ride through the countryside early in the morning and burn off the jelly-donut that became my waistline from sitting in the drivers seat in traffic for at least an hour a day. As an added bonus, I am now also able to brag about lessening my contribution to global warming. As far as I'm concerned, it's a win-win situation. I have however been blessed with beautiful weather so far. It's a good thing I'm writing this after riding to work on a clear morning. If I'd slogged it to work in the rain, I might have had a very different take on commuting by train and bicycle.

Dixon, Agnes E. (nee Budge)
Passed away in Pointe-Claire on April 26, 2008 at the age of 88. Beloved wife of the late Harry?Dixon, loving mother to Marilyn and Michael. Cremation with interment of ashes in the Field of Honour Cemetery, Pointe-Claire. Donations may be made to the Canadian Diabetes Association.

That was Then