Milton
A heartwarming candlelight ceremony was held this evening by Townsend Smith Foundation at the Italian Cultural Centre of Milton
There were readings and songs throughout the evening as we remember loved ones that are no longer with us and hope for bringing a hospice to North Halton.
Thank you to everyone who came and shared in this wonderful ceremony.
Best wishes & blessings to everyone celebrating #Navaratri #MiltonON #Halton
May 11, 2021
As the Province of Ontario considers extending the Stay-at-Home emergency order beyond May 20, today, Halton’s Mayors and Regional Chair are reiterating our call to safely reopen outdoor activities.
Outdoor activities done safely with physical distancing and masking are a necessary support to physical and mental health, especially during this prolonged period of lockdown.
Guidance provided by the COVID-19 Science Advisory Table for Ontario, that has also been endorsed by the Ontario Medical Association, encourages safe outdoor activities.
As noted by the Science Table:
“Policies that discourage safe outdoor activity will not control COVID-19 and will disproportionately harm children and those who do not have access to their own greenspace, especially those living in crowded conditions.”
While the Halton Mayors and Regional Chair continue to discourage large gatherings in any setting, small groups can be at the same amenity at the same time as long as they are following the health guidelines.
We also stand with our Halton students who are calling for a safe return to sports when health guidance and evidence suggests it is safe to do so. The Halton District School Board’s (HDSB) Student Senate recently passed a motion declaring sports essential in students’ lives and created a Safe Sports sub-committee, co-chaired by two Halton students. The committee seeks to work with the Province to develop a plan for the safe return of sports, beginning with low-contact sports such as track and field, tennis, badminton, and swimming.
You can hear more about the Safe Sports movement here on an edition of Local Matters with Mike Cluett courtesy of YourTV Halton.
https://youtu.be/ZyVJ9R5HrRI
Given that many sporting activities occur in city facilities, the four Halton municipalities stand ready to partner with the Province, school boards and our local fitness providers in planning for a safe restart of sports.
In light of the evidence and advice from the Science Table, we renew our call to the Province to review and reconsider the list of currently prohibited outdoor activities. We further call on the provincial government to consult with school boards and our youth to design a safe return to sports plan, so that low-contact sports can resume as soon as it is safe to do so.
Sincerely,
Halton Regional Chair, Gary Carr
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, City of Burlington
Mayor Rick Bonnette, Town of Halton Hills
Mayor Gordon Krantz, Town of Milton
Mayor Rob Burton, Town of Oakville
On this weeks edition of Local Matters with Mike Cluett (seen weekly on YourTV Halton) I discuss some very important issues that effect not only ward 4 residents but the Town of Milton & and Halton Region as well. In part one, Town Councillor Sameera Ali and Regional Councillor Zeeshan Hamid and I provide residents with an FAQ of what residents are asking, what is being done and the future of the proposed CN Intermodal.
In the second part of Local Matters, we discuss other important issues facing residents from storm water pond safety, parking in new developments as well as a Britannia Road construction update.
As always feel free to email me questions or comments to mike@mikecluett.ca and follow me on Twitter and on Facebook with the hashtag #LOCALMATTERS
Here are the clips (Courtesy of YourTV Halton YouTube)
It’s hard to sum up ones feelings of what’s happened over the last year.
When this was all beginning there was a palatable feeling of fear in the air. We saw reports of deaths and sickness on the news each and every night but the general feeling was “it’s over there in another country…not here.”
Then suddenly things changed. There was one case diagnosed … then another … and then more.
Our country and our town lost its sense of being safe almost overnight. It wasn’t safe to go out in groups, out shopping and being with our friends. Things that we had taken for granted were now abruptly called into question.
I won’t go into the details of the food and toilet paper hoarding that followed (some things we now chuckle about) and at the time that fear was real. The schools were closing down for a couple of weeks after the March break and that should do it. Then 2 weeks turned into 2 months and then graduations were cancelled. It all seems like a blur but it also feels like a life time ago.
Fast forward to today and we’re still hearing of rising and lowering numbers of infections and sadly more deaths. But there’s also a sense of hope now that more and more vaccines are being approved and in addition to the gloomy numbers we hear on news broadcasts, we’re now seeing people being vaccinated.
We’ve been through a lot over the last year. We have been forced to change the way we live, the way we act, the way we do business and the way we interact with families and friends.
We’ve learned about variants … mask technology … the words social distancing, pivoting, Zoom meetings (along with statements like “You’re on mute” and “Next slide please”) have been engrained into our vocabulary.
Sadly many of have lost friends and family members due to COVID and that is the ultimate cost of this pandemic. This is why today we take the opportunity to remember those who lost their lives and the impacts on their families because of COVID.
Things are getting better now. More and more people are getting vaccinated and that will have an impact on the spread of this horrible virus. We as a community still have to be vigilant going forward but here is light at the end of the tunnel. While all this is happening we must remember where we have been and learn lessons from it. Most importantly we can’t forget the people we have lost…our friends, colleagues,and family members.
Our flags are lowered to do just that.
We also need to take a moment and thank our frontline workers, health care professionals, doctors, nurses, AND everyone who has had to deal with this each and every day in order to keep us safe. Thank you so much for the time and sacrifice … it will be a debt we won’t be able to repay. Thank You!
I am continuously amazed at how our community has come together so quickly. We think of the physical distance we keep from each other, this event has brought us closer in so many other ways.
Whether you feel we’re at the middle of all this or we’re in the beginning stages of the end goal, I ask you all to remain strong … MILTON strong … and we will get through this and get back to handshakes, hugs and high fives all around. Our community has such a strong resolve we can’t fail and we won’t.
Take care yourselves and each other. Be safe!
Mike
This week on Local Matters with Mike Cluett, I sit down with Donna Danielli who in addition to her countless hours of volunteering in Milton is the executive director of Milton Transitional Housing as well as a long time Halton District School Board Trustee.
Recently Milton Transitional Housing wrapped up its annual fundraising campaign called the Coldest Night of the Year Walk where over the last number of years, hundreds of Miltonians lined up outside the Milton Sports Centre to begin a 2km, 5km or 10km walk to raise funds for MTH. This year having to deal with COVID 19 put a few more challenges in front of the organizers but by judging from the amount of money raised this year, exceeded its $70,000 goal by raising well over $80,000.
In part one, Donna talks to us about what Milton Transitional Housing does and its challenges over the 10 years in operation with a stunning 100% success rate and how important these funds raised during the Coldest Night of the Year are to helping local Miltonians in need of help.
Here is part one (courtesty of YouTube – YourTV Halton
In Part two of our discussion, Donna puts her Halton District School Board hat on to provide Milton/Halton residents with updates on school construction, getting the necessary funding for capital projects and dealing with COVID 19 in educating our chidren.
Thanks for tuning in to Local Matters with Mike Cluett and YourTV Halton. If you have any questions, comments or show ideas, please feel free to contact me via this website.