Connected to Your Community
R0011949772-0307
613-838-2211
Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association
bayviewwindows.ca
Service Your Outdoor Power Equipment!
Total EMC Distribution 474,000
Manotick News
r 1JDLVQ EFMJWFSZ BWBJMBCMF r PO BMM NBLFT NPEFMT
See Our Showroom
R0011956175
“Quality, value & service to last a lifetime�
Proudly serving the community
December 12, 2013 | 40 pages
small engine sales & service 613-748-3991 1419 Star Top Rd., Ottawa, ON
OttawaCommunityNews.com
Inside Axing rural city
services unpopular with councillors Laura Mueller laura.mueller@metroland.com
Impaired speedskater Kevin Frost is getting to know his new guide dog, Lewis. -Page 7
COMMUNITY
Blair and Kit MacKinnon celebrate their retirement from Foodland grocery store in Greely. -Page 10
News - Closing underused city service centres would save a lot of money but councillors said that option is unacceptable. West Carleton-March Coun. Eli El-Chantiry said centres that provide city services are an important issue for councillors – especially those who represent rural areas. “They are also places where city staff can work remotely,� he added. The city needs to consider the intangible benefits of providing easy access to the centres because it encourages people to follow the rules and obtain necessary permits for things like fires, El-Chantiry said. The city employs the equivalent of 40 full-time employees to staff the centres with a budget of $3.2 million. Axing 13 of those employees and closing the centres they work at could save the city $824,000 a year, auditor
R0032441207
LE’S JEWELLERY
"ANK 3T AT (UNT #LUB 2D p /TTAWA /. + 6 ! p WWW LESJEWELLERY CA
It takes one to know one.
general Alain Lalonde’s 2012 report found. “This is because the resources are not being fully utilized,� said Ray Kostuch, the deputy auditor general. But city manager Kent Kirkpatrick said city management has no intent of closing centres at this point. The rural centres – especially Kinburn – would be first on the chopping block. They already operate on limited hours – usually only once a week. It’s fairly common for rural residents to use service centres in the urban area, where they work, Kostuch said. Donna Gray, manager of Service Ottawa, reiterated that she is not looking at closing rural service centres. The centres provide essential tax and other city services “for our residents who don’t have internet access and people who don’t have access in other ways,� she said. Rather, Kirkpatrick said the city will look at how the staff time and service capacity at the centres could be better used. The city will also be looking at ensuring the service centres are located where they provide the most convenience and have the best chance of being used by residents. Twenty-three per cent of transactions performed at the centres are payments of water and tax bills. That process could be automated instead of requiring staff to process the payments, Kostuch said. The city is in the process of putting more services online as part of the Service Ottawa initiative.
JENNIFER MCINTOSH/METROLAND
Angel voices The Village Voices Women’s Choir performs at city hall on Nov. 30 as part of Osgoode Coun. Doug Thompson’s volunteer appreciation ceremony. The choir will stage its annual Christmas concert on Dec. 15 at Trinity Bible Church in Osgoode.
Miniskirts, Mini Coopers kept Manotick Motors hopping Emma Jackson emma.jackson@metroland.com
News – Saturday mornings in downtown Manotick were a non-stop parade of Europe’s most popular sports cars at the height of the 1960s. A constant stream of the hippest cats around would pour over old Bridge Street in their Minis, MGs, AustinHealeys, Rovers, Lotuses and, later, Jaguars and Fiats. They were heading, of course, to Manotick Motors – one of the only places in the Ottawa area that could service
British and European sports cars for the many veterans, immigrants and racing enthusiasts who owned the popular vehicles in Canada. Characters of every extreme came through the door to get a tune-up, check out the latest floor models or buy any number of race car accessories lining the shop walls. Tiny men arrived in enormous vehicles, and hulking tough guys crammed themselves into their favourite compacts. Fighter pilots from the Uplands base would book it
down to Manotick to show off their ride. Everyone wanted the latest gadget or gizmo to outfit their pride and joy – no matter how ridiculous they looked. “We got some characters; the types of cars we serviced bred them,� laughed Larry Renton, who ran the garage and dealership with his wife Audrey Renton for 13 years. Men and women would be decked out in the hottest gear, even if they were, in 1960s terms, ‘all show and no go.’ See MANOTICK page 12
I’m a small business owner too. No one knows the needs of a business owner better than another business owner. Trust State FarmŽ to manage and simplify your small business’ insurance needs. Get to a better State™. Get State Farm. CALL ME TODAY.
1201462CN
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Aurora, Ontario
Sharon Carey, Agent State Farm Representative 5564 Main Street Manotick, ON K4M 1A9 Bus: 613-692-2511
R0011967906_0613
NEWS