hawthorne villager

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.

Troy’s Toy Drive

Mike Cluett

We spent Saturday morning walking up and down Main Street in Milton for their 2nd annual Tots on Parade Halloween Party for kids.  Hundreds of the little ones lined the streets in the day light to get treats from store owners courtesy of the Milton DBIA.  It was a fun time and the kids left with bags full of candy and smiles across their face.  It almost felt like Christmas.

For those who know me well, I normally don’t get into the Christmas spirit until much later in the year, much to the shagrin of my wife (who would put up decorations NOW if she had the chance) but this year is a bit different.  While shopping later on with the family, my trusty phone started buzzing away.  It was a message from Troy Newton of Troy’s Diner in Milton.  When Troy calls … you answer!

Troy is now planning this years Troy’s Toy Drive scheduled for December 20, 2010 at his location at Best Western Milton (401 and 25) and this year looks to top last years monumental success.  Each year during this campaign, they raise close to $30,000 in toys for the Salvation Army, Sick Kids Hospital and Halton Women’s Place and Troy wants to beat that number … BIG TIME.

You know an event like this will bring out big time names in our community and there are two no bigger names than Tiger Jeet Singh and Tiger Ali Singh.  You’ll remember the Tigers as just this past summer they put on the first of many Tigerfest live wrestling action during the Downtown Milton Street festival raising over $35,000 for the Milton District Hospital.  Last year the most famous hockey dad in the world (and a guy with the biggest heart in the world) Walter Gretzky was there, and this year it looks like there will be lots of famous names helping out that day and I have the flyer up at the bottom of this post.

If you want to send a donation, make it payable to “Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation, c/o Troy’s Toy Drive”and drop it off and either of the Diners locations on or before the 18th of December.  Breakfast Television will once again make it out to cover this event on the 20th with Jennifer Valentyne hosting the live eye coverage.

Let’s help show the world that Milton is the best place in the world and support Troy’s Toy Drive on December 20th, head on down to the Best Western location from 6AM to 12PM and maybe YOU can be on TV.

You can also get more details as well as video from last years event at Milton Search.com

Post a comment telling Troy, the Tigers and everyone in Milton that you will be there!!!

Milton Remembrance Day Ceremonies

Mike Cluett

Sunday November 7, 2010 starting at 1:30PM.  Please join us as we celebrate Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Victoria Park cenotaph (at Milton Town Hall) and honour our fallen soldiers, our veterans and current members of Canada’s military force.

Please support the Royal Canadian Legion (Milton Branch 136) and buy a poppy from one of the many volunteers and show everyone that you will not forget their sacrifice that helps continue to make Canada and other countries around the world … free.

You can also join the official ceremonies on Thursday November 11th at the Milton Evergreen Cemetery starting at 10:45AM to 11:15AM (190 Ontario Street South) and join in celebrating our freedom.

Lest we forget.

Its sinking in

Mike Cluett

After taking a very long time to return emails, voice mails, tweets and posts over the last couple of days, I can honestly say its finally sinking in.  What really made it apparent that life has changed was the beginnings of the regular courier from Town Hall with information on meetings, seating arrangements and schedules for the next month or so.

In the coming weeks there will be orientation meetings, briefings from town staff, arrangements for the inaugural council meeting on December 6th and many more “things to do” that quickly make your fingers sore updating the Blackberry and of course more to come after that.

I am really looking forward to the challenge of working for the residents of Milton.  With the overwhelming amount of support I received on election night, its something that I do not take lightly.  Of course, I will be relying on a lot of support from Ward 6 voters when it comes to these decisions.  I want to get as much input as possible from you and help grow the interaction we started many months ago.

These decisions wont be easy and it will require a lot of work, consultation, feedback and possibly some disagreements from councillors and residents alike.  But the main thing is that there will be a dialogue…a conversation that has been lacking over the last several years.

I also want to thank publicly the outgoing councillors who didn’t make it this election.  The rough part of elections is that there has to be winners and losers but that doesn’t discount the impact that these people had on our lives in the years throughout our growth.  Paul Scherer, Jan Mowbray, Mike Boughton and Brian Penman all should be commended on their years of service and dedication to Milton.  Other retiring councillors Barry Lee, Wendy Schau and Rick Day also should be congratulated on serving Milton residents.  While we didnt agree on some issues and decisions that were made, I never once doubted their commitment to Milton, and the taxpayers.  Thank you everyone.

I would also like to find out from you what you would like to see on this website, as I will be continuing to use it as a source of information.  Would you like a listing of Town press releases, information on public meetings, openings on town committees, budget meetings etc?  This is going to be your site as well, so I would love some input on what I can do to make it the best source of information in Milton.

In closing, the last couple of nights have been funny in the Cluett household as Pat sees me either running around after dinner looking like I’m getting ready to go canvassing or I’m about to catch up on some much needed sleep.  Im sure things will begin to get more “normal” as we adjust to the new job at hand.

I am humbled by the support I received and very excited at the challenge for the next four years.  I will do my best to listen to as many people as possible and use my skills and abilities to make the best decisions I can for us here in Milton.  I hope that we can all work together to get that job done.

Thanks for your support and I will soon see you again at the doors (mainly because its Halloween this weekend 🙂 )