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First bloom of protest for spring
lar council session. Complaints aired during the protest fo- cused on several recent decisions of the mayor and council. “We’re not happy about M. Bellemare,” said Pierrette Levasseur, one of the protes- tors. “We’re not happy about M. Michaud. We’re not happy with the arena being sold. Enough is enough.” Levasseur referred to approval of a reso- lution during the March 17 council session that starts the process for putting the Jean- Marc Lalonde Arena up for sale, including getting a real estate appraisal of the lot. The
other comments referred to an in-camera majority decision of council that same day not to renew the contract of Chief Admin- istrative Officer Michel Bellemare after his nine-month probation period ends in April, and to the temporary suspension the week prior of Planning Director Mike Michaud. Another bone of contention during the protest is the continued refusal of Mayor Marcel Guibord and Councillors Diane Choinière and Guy Félio to recuse them- selves from council while they are still fac- ing criminal charges of breach of trust. That last matter is still before the court at the
pre-trial conference level. An actual court date is not yet set. “They decide for themselves,” said Dani- elle Mantha, “not for the citizens.” The group spent half an hour outside of city hall, waving placards and receiving honks of support from a steady stream of passing motorists during the evening com- muter traffic. They went inside at 7 p.m. to observe the administration committee meeting taking place in council chambers.. Rally organizers expressed satisfaction with the turnout numbers for the protest given the short time frame. and his sole comment about its possible origin was “some people have very vivid imaginations.” A March 25 news release from the city confirms Helen Collier, the current munici- pal asset management planner, as the new interim chief administrative officer for the City of Clarence-Rockland. She takes over the position left vacant after council’s decision not to renew the contract with former-CAOMichel Bellemare after his nine-month probationary period ends in April. Collier has 25 years of municipal experi- ence, including management positions with the City of Ottawa and the former mu- nicipalities of Nepean and Gloucester.
GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
ROCKLAND | The first official day of spring in Rockland also saw the year’s first official protest gathering outside of city hall. More than a dozen people waving plac- ards showed up for the impromptu event early in the evening March 20. The flash rally notice went out through the Facebook page Citoyens de clarence-rockland Citi- zens following the Monday, March 17 regu-
Photo Gregg Chamberlain
Rumour mill grinds GREGG CHAMBERLAIN GREGG.CHAMBERLAIN@EAP.ON.CA
ROCKLAND | The wheels of the rumour mill are grinding away in full gear on all the pre-election grist in the City of Clar- ence-Rockland. The latest bit of gossip circulating on the streets is that Coun. Guy Félio, who is not running for re-election in October, may be in line to fill the post of the city’s chief ad- ministrative officer after Michel Bellemare’s probationary contract ends in April. “The short answer is: It is absolutely false,” Félio said when contacted. He is not sure how the rumour got started
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