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Proud to be part of your past, present and future since 1887 March 27, 2014 | 68 pages
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By HOWAIDA SOROUR hsorour@perfprint.ca
NEWS
Photo by HOWAIDA SOROUR
Pleased with the funding announcement but still concerned over the hours of operation, Mayor Dennis Staples chats with MP Gord Brown, following the announcement that Parks Canada will be spending $7.5 million on the Rideau Canal over the next two years.
Bears start semi-finals against Ottawa Jr. Sens Friday night By LAURIE WEIR ljweir@metroland.com
COMMUNITY
This young Smiths Falls girl will take part in a Gutsy Walk. — Page SF9
Sports - The Smiths Falls Jr. A Bears will start their semi-final CCHL series against the Ottawa Jr. Senators on Friday night with home ice advantage. “We’ve been off for two weeks, the Sens have been off a week-and-a-half; that gives us a lot of time between series,” said Walt Dubas, assistant coach. Is that a good thing, or a bad one? “Well, that depends,” he said. “I guess we’ll see Friday night.” After sweeping the Nepean Raiders, with game four on March 16, the boys have had plenty of rest to start this series at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Senators and the Bears have met each other five times during the regular season, with
the Bears winning three of those games. “We’re expecting a tight series,” Dubas said. “We’re certainly not expecting to sweep. We want to win, yes. We want to advance, and stay healthy. We have to have patience.” The Bears were back on the ice Tuesday preparing for the semi finals, after having the weekend off. They’ve been practicing hard up to that point. “It was a bit hard to stay focused last week… not just the boys, but the coaches too,” he said. “But now everyone is back and we’re back to a normal routine.” Dubas added that as the series progresses, “the intensity and excitement will ramp up.” Game two will be Saturday in Ottawa at 7:30 p.m.; game three,
at home Tuesday April 1, 7:30 p.m. and game four on Wednesday in Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. If necessary, game five will be back at home on Friday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m., game six in Ottawa on Saturday, April 5 at 7:30 and game seven, back in the Bears den on Tuesday, April 8, 7:30 p.m. CCHL Rookie team The CCHL has announced the All-Rookie Team, naming Bears Neil Doef as one of the team’s forwards. Doef collected 39 points in 57 games on 16 goals and 23 assists. He’s also committed to Princeton (NCAA). Another forward named from the Bears was Zach Senyshyn, who had 32 points (22 goals, 10 assists) in 57 games. He’s since signed with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL.
News - A new federal funding announcement will see $7.5 million invested into the Rideau Canal. On March 20, MP Gord Brown announced that Parks Canada would be investing $4.3 million to rehabilitate the existing Poonamalie earth dam in Rideau Lakes and rebuild the waste weir to improve the dam’s stability. “The Poonamalie Dam was identified through our monitoring inspection program. There was no danger but it was a priority project for us,” said Darlene Upton, executive director of waterways for Parks Canada. According to Brown, planning for the Poonamalie Dam rehabilitation has already begun and a contract for the design will soon be awarded with the goal of completing the project by April 2017. “The project will not affect canal traffic in the area during the open season,” said Brown. The rest of the $7.5 million will see $3.2 million spent over the next two years on preventative maintenance and visitor facilities along the canal, according to Brown. The overall response from representatives of communities along the waterway was supportive, though shadowed by ongoing concern over Parks Canada’s shortened hours of operation at the lock stations. “I’m very pleased. It’s a significant amount and reinvestment into the system,” said Smiths Falls mayor Dennis Staples. “I thought there might be an announcement on the hours of operation, but we’ll continue to work with the federal government to ensure the issue continues to be addressed, and I’m optimistic.” So far Parks Canada has said the hours of operation for the 2014 season will remain the
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same as they were for 2013. The shorter hours have been a bone of contention for many businesses and communities along the canal, and an issue that Brown has championed with the support of the 13 municipalities along the waterway. “The hours are not changing right now, but I continue to work to try to improve the hours for certain lock stations that would allow boaters to access the canal more efficiently,” Brown told The Record News. While it’s small consolation that the hours will not change this year, at least that information is now clearer to the boaters who use the locks. “If there is clear information relayed to boaters; people will adapt. Last year there was lots of misinformation which led to confusion among boaters,” said Susan Fournier, executive director, Valley Heartland Community Futures Development Corporation. Due to the short notice for this announcement not all the mayors from the 13 municipalities along the canal could be at the press conference at the Parks Canada Visitor Centre in Smiths Falls, due to prior commitments. However Aubrey Churchill, reeve of Drummond North Elmsley, and John Fenik, mayor of Perth were on hand, and Staples made it within minutes of Brown taking the podium. Rideau Lakes mayor Ron Holman was at a county meeting but sent a statement: “I would like to express my support for the project which is happening in Rideau Lakes.” According to Brown this announcement is just the first of several more capital funding announcements he will be making in the coming months. “It’s good to see this investment, I think the tide is turning; it will take time. It won’t happen overnight,” said Fournier. “But the Rideau Canal is in focus and that will bode well for the region.”
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Parks Canada set to pour $7.5 million into Rideau Canal
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