editionap.ca NEWS The nursery that grew
Exodus averted
“Well, it looks like we will not be moving in with you after all.” The message from south of the 49 th parallel arrived a fewminutes after Barack Obam had been re-elected. The President’s victory touched off a wide range of responses, on both sides of t Canada-U.S. border. A sense of relief was shared by all when the interminable campaign finally ended. Some had special reasons to be pleased with the outcome, since a win by the Repu licans may have caused a major alteration in living arrangements. Seriously. Some nervous Americans were so worried about the prospect of the R publicans reclaiming the White House that they had begun contemplating a move Canada. If the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan ticket had prevailed, certain left-leaning Yan were prepared to pack up and head north. Occasionally, whenever the Obama campaign faltered, there would be queries, pro ing for details about life in the Great White North. “Is it really, really cold up there in Ju Do you get all the same TV stations we receive down here? What about wireless? Is D Cherry really the Prime Minister?” So, fortunately, an Obama-Joe Biden win annulled a migration of American refuge and averted a frantic attempt to clean up that spare bedroom in order to accommoda the poor wretches fleeing the GOP, yearning to breathe free. During the pre-election long-distance Canada 101 orientation, it had become cle that a transition to Canadian life would not have been onerous for our neighbours. Sure, they have bland currency and wimpy football rules. (Come on -- four downs move a ball ten yards and the “fair catch” rule?) Yet, we have so many things in commo To paraphrase a once-famous politician, we can almost see parts of NewYork State fro our yards. Plus, based on certain trends in the Home of the Brave, Americans are becoming mo like Canadians, and it is not only because the U.S.A. turns out some great hockey playe In the most recent election, three states endorsed same-sex marriage and two sta supported the legalization of marijuana. But they really have to do something about their voting methods. Remember t hanging chads? (No, that is not a rock group.) This time around, voters in many sta waited in line all day to cast ballots. The solution? Use the Internet and phone systems that we have been using here municipal and school board elections for years. Speaking of shared experiences, the most recent earth tremor, which was centr near Hawkesbury, registered 4.2 on the Richter Scale here and 3.7 in New York Sta Facebook users on both sides of the international divide were up and posting shor after 4 a.m. Although this was considered to be a “minor” seismic event, it did not see all that harmless when the world shook for a few seconds. How was it for you? Pretty frightening, according to the social media traffic. Speaking of frights, considering the huge amounts of time, money and creativity th are being used to celebrate Halloween, why not organize a Halloween decoration co test? There could be town and country divisions. Prizes would be awarded for the scari and most original displays. Extra points would be awarded for the most innovative u of pumpkins and corn stalks, and entrants that focused on local and organic product The Place Speaking of local resources, check out what has happened at Place des Pionniers Hawkesbury, where the downtown park has been transformed into a warm and liv “garden.”With the help of the municipality, Jardin des Pionniers managers Dominiq Carrière and Ovila David Huard have given new life to the space which has never qu lived up to its billing. Remember that when it first opened, the Place was to becom The Place to be, a gathering place for locals, a showcase for talent, a magnet for touris consumers, and their dollars. OK, so Rome wasn’t built in a day. But Le Jardin can help counter the atrophy that has beset the downtown busine core. Carrière and Huard obviously have the necessary talent and energy to make t space flourish. However, Le Jardin will need constant nurturing, and the continu backing of the municipality, if La Place des Pionniers is to realize its potential. Shifting gears...how is your infrastructure? The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has launched The Great Canadian Inf structure Challenge initiative “to bring Canadians into the conversation about municip infrastructure and its importance in our day-to-day lives.” Visit FCMchallenge.ca . “We know that Canadians have busy lives and don’t have a lot of time to talk abo fixing roads and water pipes, but in the next few months the federal government w be making critical decisions that will affect Canada’s infrastructure for the future. It’ once-in-a-generation opportunity we cannot afford to miss and we need all Canadia to be involved in the debate,” said FCM president Karen Leibovici. Decisions taken by our governments in 2013 will affect the 2014 federal infrastructu investment strategy. All of this may seem remote, or even worse -- boring. But this seemingly mundane process will determine whether your municipality w have the money to fix a road or replace a culvert. So take a few moments to conve about infrastructure.
Photo Richard Mahoney
Claire Diamond and Marie Pageau Handfield remember the founding of the service. 1972. The structure was modest – it was fashioned from two portable classrooms from the former Vankleek Hill Public School.
Richard.mahoney@eap.on.ca VANKLEEK HILL | Four decades ago, a group of citizens approached Vankleek Hill council about the establishment of a new day care program. Some council members “thought it was a crazy idea,” remembers Champlain Town- ship Mayor Gary Barton. At the time, the notion of a public day care service was con- sidered to be avant-gardiste. But a group of citizens, led by residents including Claire Diamond, convinced the council to proceed with the erection of the building on Derby Avenue in September,
“We are lucky to have it,” noted Barton. With the help of subsidies from the On- tario government, Champlain Township continued to support the service when Vankleek Hill became part of the new mu- nicipality in 1998. It remains one of the few such programs in eastern Ontario that receives direct support from a municipality. At the start, three employees cared for 25 children. Over the years, the Pre-Ma- ternelle Vankleek Hill Day Nursery grew, recalled coordinator Marie Pageau Hand- field during celebrations marking the 40 th anniversary of the service last week. Today, 35 employees care for 271 chil- dren at various locations in the township. “Through the years , the needs of the parents changed and the Nursery school evolved into a full-time daycare,” noted Pageau Handfield, who has worked at the centre for 22 years. “Those parents who got involved in 1972 had a vision and were committed to pro v idin g adequate ser v ices to all the children in the area and we have kept this vision alive.” Today , the Champlain daycare services offer full daycare to 30 children at L ’ Atel- ier de s Petits in L’Orignal and 49 children at Garderie Champlain , s chool-age da y- care services to 16 children at École St- Grégoire, 27 at CECLC St-Jude, Vankleek Hill, 52 at St-Jean-Baptiste in L’Orignal and early childhood program s for 62 children at St. Jude ’ s and 35 at St-Jean-Baptiste. Since September 18, 1972, the daycare / n ursery School has served approximately 3,000 families and m ore than 4,000 chil- dren . “ We are a unique part o f the area ’ s com- munity living . We serve parents who are labourers, doctors , owners , office workers , and more. Most , if not all of our parents, work in the area and are major players in the community. In this day and age, with the economy as it is in Prescott - Russell , families need two incomes to survive. Longgone are thedayswhereMomstayed home to care for the children. Parents de- pend on our services every working day . Some have no other famil y in the area to handle emergencies and more than once a week , we are called upon to help them deal with different situations,” relates Pageau Handfield.
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