hustings hustle

Posted on November 19, 2013 by ottawaowl

votepourmoi
Vote for me! Or not. Is democracy alive and well in Bells Corners? It can hardly be worse than in Montreal or Toronto.

Not many people vote (only 44% in the 2010 municipal elections, even with the nasty Larry O’Brien/Jim Watson battle to spice things up) and community association elections usually draw only 0.001% of the electorate.

The Lynwood Village Community Association has its annual meeting on Wed. Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. in the community building at 7 Sycamore. If you live east of Moodie and south of Robertson you’re allowed to vote, unless, according to the secret LVCA constitution, you live in “the area known as Arbeatha Park.” Here’s the agenda:

It may draw a few dozen residents – unlike sparsely-attended Westcliffe community association AGMs, you don’t have to pay $10 to vote, and past meetings have been very entertaining.

Rick, doing his best Rob-Ford imitation, usually brings doughnuts and taxpayer-funded vote-for-Rick swag. Please come if you care about your community, about your neighbourhood – important decisions are made at these meetings, so YOUR vote counts.

Bad traffic jams on the strip today. Maybe three more weeks and the Coco boys will pack it in for the winter.

What’s this fence on Elmsley for? Won’t the snowplough mow it down?

Anybody know what this is?

These ones are on Ridgefield but I’ve seen them elsewhere too.

Rats! Looks like that beautiful dwarf willow we planted as a community project has been vandalized.

Old right-hand drive mail truck in Westcliffe

The new electric trucks are controversial.

Westcliffe residents like to use the mailboxes as a community bulletin board but the driver is supposed to rip them down.

The best Bells Corners treehouse on Ridgefield

One good thing about living in Westcliffe – easy access to the Stony Swamp part of the Greenbelt.

One of the entrances in the Forester community
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Here are a few homes currently for sale in Bells Corners. Guess the price (answers tomorrow- go here if you can’t wait).

~~$300K?~~ $350K ~~$400K~~

$140K ~~$175K?~~ ~~200K?~~

$40K ~~$80K?~~ ~~$120K?~~
A few more houses currently for sale:

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9 Responses to hustings hustle

t lamos says:

November 20, 2013 at 1:24 am

“Anybody know what this is?”

Seen these newfangled high-tech traffic counters spread out in the local Lanark County roads earlier this year, replacing those old-fashioned wire-trip contraptions.

Curious if anyone’s yet decoded the mystery of the ominous giant pylon erected this year guarding the Timm Drive entrance to the ultra-secret research facility located smack dab in the middle of a major hydro power corridor. hmmmmm

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wanderer says:

November 20, 2013 at 7:25 am

I hope the turnout at the LVCA AGM is good – we intend to be there.

Didn’t realize there were so many homes for sale – unusually high number.

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8 says:

November 20, 2013 at 12:32 pm

People are leaving Bells Corners because it’s run down…it’s turning into Vanier.

– I wish!

Vanier is actually a pretty nice place now, and it’s getting better all the time – here’s one example.

Vanier has active community groups and a non Rob-Fordish councillor (a former City lifeguard with connections).

But don’t count BC out – we have good bones.

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Nasty dogs in Westcliffe says:

November 21, 2013 at 11:20 am

since I’m here, let’s talk dogs and how people think their snarling dogs are cute. Listen folks if your dog snarls growls and bares its teeth then this dog should not be in or around other dogs and perhaps you should think of getting your dog or dogs a muzzle and while I’m at it, all you small dog owners, just because your dog is small doesn’t mean no one will see its poop on the grass, shit is shit, and it stinks whether it is small or big..so pick it up.

– I don’t know about Westcliffe but in Lynwood I’ve never seen an irresponsible dog owner, and it’s great to see people out and about walking their dogs – more eyes and life on the street.

Nothing’s perfect, of course, and sometimes bylaws are flouted. Some people stoop, scoop and then deposit the bag in a city garbage bin, and ideally it should be flushed rather than sent to the landfill. Occasionally dogs are off-leash in the park, but as long as they’re under close control I don’t think anyone cares.

Cats – that’s another subject we could debate, but I don’t think there’s anything Bells Corners specific about it – everyone just seems to get along as far as pet ownership issues are concerned.

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- Responsible Dog Owner says:
  
  November 21, 2013 at 8:16 pm
  
  “Nasty dogs” knows his stuff. I have been a dog owner in Westcliffe since 2003, and the behaviour is appalling. I have mentioned to owners that their dogs are not supposed to be off-leash, or in the running track or baseball diamond behind Franco Ouest – it is well signed “No Dogs Allowed” at every entrance – and have constantly been verbally abused and worse.
  
  Same with off-leash dogs – “MY dog is well-trained!” – yeah, well-trained enough to NOT obey your feeble commands, and come and harass MY dog…and what is with the a**holes who take the trouble to incur the expense of poop bags, take the trouble to take them on a walk, take the trouble to actually USE them to pick up their dog’s excrement — then tie the bag and throw it on the ground??!!! CERTIFIABLE!
  
  I have seen a 7-year-old girl in front of my house, with her dog and a girlfriend, stoop to scoop. She then shrieked “EEEWWWW!!! – IT’S MUSHY!!! — but she STILL cleaned it up.
  
  Bravo, my wee friend – you are much more mature and responsible than many adults in this area! My question for dog owners in Westcliffe who do not pick up is as follows: I walk my dog once a day on weekdays, and twice a day on weekends. For 52 weeks, that is 468 walks. I do not walk when raining or when -20C – let’s be generous and say that is 3 days/week times 52 weeks, or 156 days – that leaves 312 walks. My dog poops at least once per walk. So my question to you irresponsible dog owners is this – how do you decide on whose property to leave those 300+ piles of poop – do you “bomb” the same lawn continuously, or do you spread it around the neighbourhood equally – one per lawn, then repeat?
  
  I would like to propose to all dog walkers that, if we can identify a “poop offender,” that we collect said poop, and then deposit it on the offender’s porch – either as it occurs, or save up a few months’ worth and dump it all at once! Use a paper bag, so you can employ “The Bag of Poop Trick” (Google it). To all of you RESPONSIBLE pet owners – I love you and your sweeties! (including the bird that whistles back!)
  
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nasty dog in Westcliffe says:

November 21, 2013 at 12:53 pm

More often then not the people here use the animal hospital garbage can or the bus stop garbage can at the corner of Westcliffe and Robertson Road – nice huh? Especially for those bus riders who like to sit down to wait for the bus and get the sweet smell of baking poop wafting towards them. Flushing helps with the smell, especially when garbage pick-up is two weeks apart.

I’ve seen many leashed animals out of control, especially after the owner states that the animal is friendly and oh yes, sometimes he doesn’t like being patted, but ignore his growling, he is just being grumpy. Yeah right. Snapping at someone’s hand ISN’T CUTE! Snapping at another dog ISN’T CUTE!

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- V says:
  
  November 23, 2013 at 10:34 am
  
  Awesome! We need more people like this Sun worker on poop patrol, vicious dogs off-leash patrol etc…
  
  We live on Lovell Lane in Westcliffe and have an outrageously obnoxious, self-centered, thoughtless, rude dog owner neighbour. The woman has a medium-sized angry, demented black dog. She sits out on the patio and lets this dog run around the condo property off-leash. Last week it ran up, barked growled and then bit my 13.5 year old dogs face!!
  
  The repugnant, low-life owner went into her house rather than leash the dog and bring it in! I had to pry her vicious dogs jaws from my dogs head and turn my raised foot to hold it back (while it lunged and barked at my foot and leg) while I checked my dog for wounds. Finally the unleashed dog ran back to its condo unit. My dog fell over and had a massive seizure brought on by the attack. Other people have also had problems with this rude, obnoxious, unit owner….To add to everyone’s misery, she just got a large brown dog that she leaves off leash. The new dog appears even-tempered…Guess she hasn’t had time to destroy its personality and mental health yet.
  
  – Sorry to hear this – sounds horrible. Is there some sort of mediator or group of mediators who could step in and talk to this woman? The condo board? If she won’t listen to reason then I guess some sort of authority has to be called in – wish there were a better solution.
  
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nasty dogs in Westcliffe says:

November 22, 2013 at 1:45 pm

If I had a cell phone I would take pictures of the people who left their dog poop behind and then just post the pictures online or on a lamp post. Or we could play a game, “Match this poop to the dog”.. and for you folks who need to walk your dog outside an animal hospital and don’t have a dog waste bag, go inside and ask for one.

– I’m not wild about the public humiliation of bad guys approach. Westcliffe-Doug’s attack on his neighbour, while it might have sold a lot of papers, left me feeling a bit queasy – wasn’t there a better way to handle the situation?

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nasty dogs in Westcliffe says:

November 22, 2013 at 5:31 pm

Can’t say as I blame the Sun worker, having poop lying around is a health hazard…and if doing what the Sun worker did, worked, then so be it. That goes for cats too,

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