hawthorne village

Beware suspicious callers

Mike Cluett

In the Milton Canadian Champion yesterday it was reported that there have been calls in the area soliciting funds and donations for the Royal Canadian Legion.  This happened several times leading up to the Remembrance Day parade at Victoria Park and be aware that the Legion does NOT use this method to raise funds.

If you do receive a call like this, please report it to the police immediately.  It’s incredibly sad that people will go to stoop as low as to use the Legion as a tool to steal money.  The same caution should be used with all unsolicited phone calls asking for money, credit card numbers or banking information.

Here’s the story from the Champion.

Caller seeks donations for legion

Police say it’s a scam as legion doesn’t solicit funds over phone

Residents are being warned to beware of fundraising scams after a local man was telephoned by an imposter soliciting donations on behalf of the Royal Canadian Legion.Joe Auger said he received a phone call at 7:15 p.m. Thursday — a week before Remembrance Day — by a professional-sounding ‘fundraiser.’

Auger said the conversation started off as a normal telemarketing call until the young man on the other end told him he had donated $25 to the legion last year and asked that he donate $50 this year.

“I knew it was bull right then and there,” said the 71-year-old. “I’ve never given money to the legion over the phone. If I ever wanted to give them money I would walk down there and do it in person.”

Auger said after the financial request, the caller said the legion was losing 500 members each year and needed help.

“It was at that point I said no and hung up,” he said. “My wife and I don’t give out our credit card (number) over the phone. I know a few guys from the legion so I told them the next day what had happened, one of them reported it to the police.

“I think this sort of scam is a disgrace. The worst part is that it hurts other charities that are actually trying to collect for a good cause.”

Cliff Conor, who reported the incident to police, echoed Auger’s sentiments.  “This is fraud,” said the 68-year-old veteran and legion member.  “It’s a terrible thing to try and use the legion at this time of year. This person should be ashamed of himself. It’s despicable.”

A spokesperson for the local legion confirmed it doesn’t conduct telephone soliciations.  Det. Sgt. Murray Drinkwalter said he wants residents, especially seniors, to beware of fraud artists.

“This is a disturbing incident. If people get these phone calls make sure you get a name and ask for a call back number. This way people can return phone calls to ensure the charity is a bona fide one.

“If people choose to donate over the phone, they must be sure they know who you are dealing with.”  He added that this was the first incident of this sort involving the legion he has heard about.

Anyone who has received a similar phone call is asked to contact police at (905) 878-5511.

Getting Oriented

Mike Cluett

Last night was the first of many orientation meetings for the members of Milton Town Council.  With the sheer number of “new” councillors around the table the orientations have been split up so that our heads don’t spin off of our bodies.  Good luck with that.

I have to thank Milton Town staff for putting on these meetings and as someone who is somewhat familiar with the breakdown of the departments and what they do, it was still a good refresher filled with many “ah-ha’s” throughout the night.  I’m really looking forward to more of these sessions so that when the council is inaugurated on December 6th, we can hit the ground running.

There are some members of council who were re-elected and what we referred to as “recycled” at the meeting and they will be a great source of information to help us “newbies” get on track.  There is a lot to do in the coming weeks and many more pieces of paper to digest but its a challenge we are all looking forward to.

There are a lot of decisions to make before we get started and council members have to decide which sub committees they would like to sit on, from transit to trails to accessibility to economic development there are many to choose from.  These committees will be populated not only by councillors but members of the public as well.  Citizens are encouraged to apply for the open positions that are available on these committees and you can find a list of them on the Town of Milton’s website Please take a look at the list of boards and committes, see what you would like to apply for, and send your infomration in.  Again…we want your input!

Here are just a few of those boards/committees to consider:

There are also a few training courses put on by AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) that new councillors and “older” ones are encouraged to attend.  Then…the forms.  Lots of forms.  But that’s just par for the course.

I was also reminded last night that the first meeting of a new residents group took place (of which I will get an update on what happened) and that encourages me that we can have more involvement of the community in town affairs.  I, along with many of my counterparts during the election campaign, made commitments that we would do what we could to keep you engaged in the process and look for feedback and ideas as well.  This residents group will be a good start.  Thanks to Steve and Annie and many others who got the ball rolling on this and I know that it will be successful.  I will also do my part in helping out, so that way we can all do our best to make Milton a better place.

So my head goes back into the books, so to speak, but I hope that we can continue our dialogue started many years ago now and people will get involved in that conversation.  Only with your help can we do this.

As always, you can email me mike@mikecluett.ca or call me by going to my Contact page (yes that is my home phone number 🙂 ) and I will do my best to answer any questions or concerns you might have.

I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running and I hope you join me on this journey.

Wilfrid Laurier Lecture Series Continues

Mike Cluett

Wilfrid Laurier University is pleased to partner with the Town of Milton and the Milton Public Library to present the second “Laurier Milton Lecture Series.”

Wilfrid Laurier has long supported the public role of academics to bring their knowledge and thinking outside of the classroom. The Laurier Milton Lecture Series provides a wonderful opportunity to engage in a public dialogue with citizens of Milton on a broad array of important topics. We are pleased that the presentations represent the current research and analysis of members of five different Faculties and seven different University Departments/Programs.

On November 10, 2010 in the Milton Room at Town Hall will be another installment in this series with Steve Farlow discussing Entreprenurship in Milton. Steve is the founding Executive Director of The Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship that operates within The School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo Ontario. He brings his own entrepreneurial background to support student’s education in entrepreneurship including an incubation process that launches new student businesses.

Admission is free and it starts at 6:30pm.

Register online or contact:

Milton Public Library 45 Bruce Street Milton, Ontario L9T 2L5

Tel: 905-875-2665

http://mpl.on.ca

Remembrance Day Parade

Mike Cluett

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a parade.  Hundreds of Miltonians thought so as well as Pat, Anthony and Miranda joined the crowd around the cenotaph by Milton Town Hall to celebrate and remember our fallen soldiers, the ones still serving and also those who have come back from combat.

It was great to see so many people come out to salute our veterans in this annual event.  Anthony made his way closer to the cenotaph so he could catch everything that was going on.  He’s quite proud of the fact he is taking part in his schools Remembrance Day ceremonies on Thursday and has been working hard getting his lines just right.  I couldn’t miss his face as he watched the parade make its way to the cenotaph when the members of the Royal Canadian Legion Milton Branch, Rotary Club, The Knights of Columbus and other organizations lined up on Charles Street to make their way up Main Street towards Victoria Park.

People lined Main Street and broke out into applause as our veterans lead the parade to the sounds of pipes and drums while kids stopped and saluted them.  The Army and Air Cadets were also in the parade followed by a troop of Beavers, Girl Guides and Scouts.

One of the most moving parts of the ceremony is when they read off the names of Miltonians who have fought and died for our country.  Someone remarked near me that they were blown away by the shear number of people that came from Milton who served our country and didn’t come back.

Martin Capper was there as well and put up some video on YouTube of the event and thanks to Jennifer who took the quick snapshot of yours truly as well.

This coming Thursday you can also join the veterans at Milton Evergreen Cemetery on Ontario Street (near EC Drury School) from 1045AM to about 1130AM for the official ceremonies on Remembrance Day.

Lest we forget.

 

Firefighter Appreciation Day November 6th Milton Fairgrounds

Mike Cluett

From the Milton Canadian Champion

Local emergency personnel to go up against civilians – This Saturday November 6th starting at 9AM

IN TRAINING: Civilians Kim Smith (left) and Annie Gordon train in bunker gear for Canadian Firefighter Appreciation Day this Saturday. Graham Paine / Canadian Champion

If you’ve ever been interested to see how your local police or firefighters would fare in a fitness competition against regular civilians, you will soon get your opportunity.

The Canadian Firefighter Appreciation Day, which will pit teams of civilians against emergency services personnel, will take place this Saturday from 9 to 3 p.m. at the Milton Fair Grounds.

The day, intended to raise awareness and funds for the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation (CFFF), will feature real-life events that firefighters might face, including sledge hammering, rope climbing and car pushing.

The second annual event, which will be supported by the Milton Fire Department, managed to raise $3,000 last year for the CFFF, which honours and remembers fallen firefighters and supports their families.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the 9 to 3 p.m. event, which asks visitors for a charitable donation, can visit www.firefighterappreciationday.ca.