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November 21, 2013 | 48 pages
OttawaCommunityNews.com
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Contact me with your provincial concerns 1795 Kilborn Ave. 613.736.9573
Inside Pipeline NEWS
Police ask residents to be aware of robberies in south Ottawa. – Page 6
dialogue coming Public input wanted before Energy East Pipeline, Chiarelli says Joe Lofaro
ARTS
Robert Bateman returns to school that bears his name. – Page 17
COMMUNITY
News - Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli announced on Nov. 13 at an Ottawa press conference that Ontarians will get to have their say on the proposed Energy East Pipeline. TransCanada announced the pipeline project in August. If approved, Energy East would transport more than one million barrels of Alberta oil through Ontario to Canada’s east coast. The project needs to be approved by the National Energy Board (NEB) to go ahead. If it gets the NEB’s approval, about 2,000 kilometres of pipeline would be built in Ontario, including underneath the Rideau River. See CONCERN, page 3
EMMA JACKSON/METROLAND
Keep the tip A St. Francis Xavier player scores against St. Mark in boys high school hockey at the Manotick arena on Nov. 14. St. FX crushed St. Mark’s bid for a perfect season, winning 5-4.
Putting the merry back in Christmas Resident launches campaign to bring back greeting Sabine Gibbins sabine.gibbins@metroland.com
Students learn about the Holocaust thanks to local resident. – Page 25
Community - Russ Salo wants everyone to have a Merry Christmas. Not a happy holidays, not a seasons greetings – a Merry Christmas. The Alta Vista resident sees no harm in wishing people a merry Christmas, which is why he has launched a campaign aimed at bringing back the phrase. “It gets eroded, sanitized, and watered down,” he said.
“I really wanted to try and make a change because it means a lot to me.” Salo and a group of volunteers launched their online campaign, and have since received support from residents across the region. While not a religious organization, the group is hearing and working with people from different religious backgrounds, and have gained support from notable community leaders such as Rabbi Reuven Bulka, and the congregation of Machzikei Hadas, a modern Orthodox synagogue.
The idea to start the campaign was inspired by the changes to a longstanding tradition Salo saw happening at his children’s school. About five years ago, an annual Christmas concert was turned into a “winter celebration”, he said, in an attempt to diversify it. Gone were most of the Christmas classics, and in their place were non-Christmas themed songs such as “What a Wonderful World”. “It’s a lovely song, but has no relation to Christmas whatsoever,” he said. “I think it’s just sad. Those are songs we grew up listening to, and
ones that our children listen to. Now they have just one or two Christmas songs, like We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. They’re trying to make it into a more generic event.” Part of the campaign includes interviewing different community leaders to get a sense on where they stand on the use of the phrase, and inviting them to voice their opinions in a video message, which is then posted the Bring Back Merry Christmas website. The team is also trying to get the public school on board. See MESSAGE, page 2
Something for everyone... 1910 St. Laurent Blvd. (corner of St. Laurent & Smyth)
HAVE A SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON
Elmvale Florist & Gifts
Happy Holidays
KIM CLEANER
Warm Wishes
ST LAURENT & SMYTH BRANCH 613-739-4333
Happy Holidays
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Season’s Best
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Merry Christ
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