Trek sets out
Move it! Parking space
to pinpoint
hogs on Main
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pollution
H AWKESBURY
In a small town, everyone not only knows your name — everyone also seems to
sources
know your parking habits.
Lingering laments about parking space hogs, two in particular, sparked a recent
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discussion at Hawkesbury town council.
CouncillorsMarcTourangeauand JohannePortelancehadsuggested that a two-hour
parking limit on Main Street East be imposed fromMcGill to John Streets.
Two well-known culrpits
Ottawa Riverkeeper has embarked
The suggestion stems from complaints that two merchants hog spots, parking their
on a 900-kilometre journey to pinpoint
vehicles in spots that could be used by customers.
the prime sources of pollution on the
But their council colleagues noted that the town ought not alter a by-law because of
Ottawa River.
the actions of two people.
Riverkeeper Meredith Brown and a
Since the identityof theoffenders is commonknowledge, the simplest courseof action
team of expert educators, scientists,
adventurers, paddlers, photojournalists
wouldbetosimplyinformthesepeopleaboutthegrievancesandaskfortheircooperation,
and historians set off July 4.
allowed Councillor Alain Fraser.
“Having an in-depth understanding
The town will ask the Business Improvement Area Commission to take care of the
of the current health of the riverwill help
issue.
File photo
us take action to prevent continued
The problem of all-day parkers has become acute since 2004 when the municipality
Meredith Brown entered the debate
degradation and enforce the protective
removed parking meters at the request of the Downtown Business Improvement Area
over the clean-up of the former CIP
regulations that are otherwise being
Commission.
waste lagoon in Hawkesbury.
overlooked,” says Brown. “At the same
time, we recognize that protecting our
local waterways is a community
responsibility. We can’t rely on
government agencies to do the work – if
we want swimmable, drinkable and
fishable water, it’s up to all of us.”
Armed with state-of-the-art water
qualitymonitoringgearandphoto/video
capabilities, the team is travelling from
Fort Témiscamingue to Montréal,
collecting real-time water quality
samples, which will be used to create a
report card of the rivers’ true health and
shine a spotlight on the region’s worst
water pollution offenders. The project
also aims to raise awareness about local
water issues and inspire a stronger sense
community water stewardship and
citizen participation.
FromAugust 13 toAugust 20, a group
of ten students, aged 14 to 17, will travel
with the expedition team from Des
Joachims to Portage-du-Fort, QC.
This “Future Leaders” program,
organized in partnership with Canadian
Canoe Foundation, will inspire students
totakeaninterestinwatershedprotection
andprovide the toolsandskillsneededto
explore academic or professional careers
in the field. For more information, visit
http://www.greatriverproject.ca.
Last summer, the organization
brought together leaders for a summit on
the state of the watershed.
Murky jurisdiction is one of the main
reasons the group decided to call the get-
together.
The Ottawa River watershed drains
an area of 1,467,000 square kilometres, a
territory that includes about 90
municipalities.
Vankleek Hill Baptist Church
156 Main St E., Vankleek Hill
Presents
Calvin Smith of CMI-Canada
Sunday July 17, 2011 6:00 p.m. Genesis: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle 7:10 p.m. Evolution: What are the Facts?
followed by Question and Answer Forum
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