milton canadian champion

Ed Does It Again!

Mike Cluett

Ed Whitlock, who is one of the charter members of the Milton Walk of Fame – Class of 2007, accomplished yet another amazing feat by setting YET ANOTHER age class world record in Rotterdam.  Three hours twenty five minutes to complete a marathon.  And hes only 80 years of age! 🙂  Congratulations ED!  Truly an example to others that you can accomplish anything at any age.

Here is the story from the Milton Canadian Champion. 

Now 80, Whitlock breaks yet another age-class world record in Rotterdam

Ed Whitlock has spent decades racing his way into the international spotlight, yet has never felt entirely comfortable being the centre of attention.

Such is the paradox that defines Milton’s ageless wonder, who chases away praise with nearly as much gusto as he chases down world records.

Even a low-key reception at Ned Devine’s Wednesday evening — put on by the Milton Runners in recognition of his latest marathon milestone — leaves the just-turned 80-year-old runner embarrassed.

Appreciative, but embarrassed.

“I thought I gave implicit instructions not to get me anything (gift),” said Whitlock, having recently returned from Rotterdam (The Netherlands), where he set a new 80-and-over world marathon record with a time of 3:25.40 — shattering the old benchmark by Australian Robert Horman (in 1998) by close to 14 minutes.

Sitting down for an interview earlier in the night, the highly-accomplished racer — who might need less time to run his next marathon than to list out all of his world and national records — said he definitely gets an inner satisfaction from his ongoing success.

However, the notoerity and admiration that accompanies it can make him feel somewhat uneasy.

Asked if he doesn’t give himself enough credit for all he’s achieved in the world of distance running, the soft-spoken Englishman flashes a humble smile that’s nearly as distinctive as his flowing shock of white hair.

“I get embarrassed when people say they’re inspired by me. I have difficulty relating to that.”

Be that as it may, it’s awfully tough — especially for people like the Runners, who fittingly enough presented him with a new kettle and some tea — not to view Whitlock as a huge source of inspiration.

Having rediscovered a passion for running in his 40s — and known for his daily training loops through the ‘quiet and peaceful’ Evergreen Cemetery, just two blocks from his home — he holds a laundry list of records and remains the only 70-and-up runner to ever complete a marathon in under three hours.

He did so twice, and looks at that feat with more pride than his recent 80-and-over record.

“The association with the sub-three hour mark kind of makes it a bit more special,” explained Whitlock, who’s struggled with a knee injury in recent years, but was in close to optimum shape for his latest trip to Rotterdam, where despite a nagging cold he set a healthy pace early en route to decimating the previous 80-and-over record. “There’s no exact time attached to the 80-and-up class marathon, and it was a bit of a soft record.”

Don’t go mistaking that last remark as arrogance.

For all his racing exploits, Whitlock just doesn’t see himself as anything extraordinary, and often expresses disbelief that nobody else has joined him in the 70-and-up sub-three-hour marathon fraternity.

“It’s kind of like the four-minute mile. Once one person does it, others should think ‘Maybe I can do it too’,” said the world-class runner, who adheres to no special diet and has never taken on any of the technical training of today’s elite athletes. “I really am surprised that nobody else (70 or older) has run a marathon in under three hours.”

With his on-again, off-again knee problems, Whitlock’s experienced more than a few extended breaks from running in recent years.

But the idea of a permanent hiatus has simply never entered the picture.

“I have no intention of ever stopping running. I just enjoy it, and it really doesn’t feel any different than when I ran in my 40s, although the clock certainly shows something different.”

And while the days of chasing world records would be in most 80-year-olds’ rearview mirror, that’s far from the case for Whitlock.

After all, having just jumped to a new age group (80-84), there’s a whole slew of new times to topple.

“I’ll be doing the Toronto marathon again in the fall and there’s the master’s world championships in Sacremento (California) this summer where I’ll do the 5,000 and 10,000m,” said high-endurance octogenarian, who just two weeks after his 80th birthday last month broke the age class 3,000m record at the Canadian Masters Indoor Championships in Kamloops, B.C. “Plus there’s all the road records. Assuming my knee holds out, it’s going to be a busy year.”

Milton Canadian Champion Covers Grow Milton Hospital

Mike Cluett

Citizens rally for Milton hospital expansion

(Photo Courtesy of Milton Canadian Champion, Graham Paine) – By Christina Commisso, Milton Canadian Champion

The signs are up, the signatures are in and the will is strong.

The time for Milton’s hospital expansion is now — that message was heard loud and clear Saturday morning.

About 30 people huddled under the gazebo at Victoria Park, sheltered against the rain and wind, to show their support for the expansion.

“We’re a small group, but we’re mighty,” said Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh.

He, along with citizen’s group Grow Milton Hospital, has collected more than 5,000 signatures of support for the expansion over a six-week campaign.

The petitions were delivered to Queen’s Park yesterday.

The urgency of the expansion was outlined by Milton District Hospital (MDH) surgeon Dr. Jeff Kolbasnik, who spoke during the morning event. 

“When I started (at MDH) we had lots of ward beds. Anytime I needed to admit a patient there was no issue. In the emergency department there would be a few people backed up, but routinely people would get seen within an hour. We never had surgery cancelled because no beds were available and getting a patient in urgently was no problem. Things have really changed.”

According to Kolbasnik, it’s not just the population spike that has placed mounting pressure on MDH; the infrastructure at the hospital is showing signs of deterioration.

He pointed to a leaky roof last summer that led to the evacuation of the medical surgical ward for almost a week. MDH recently received a “state of the art” surgical sterilization machine, which Kolbasnik said took a week to install because the hospital’s infrastructure was too old to support the new technology.

“During that week we had to ration surgical equipment…that’s not the sort of thing that should be happening in a growing community like ours.”

He continued, “As much as there’s a gradual deterioration, we’re worried we’re going to reach a breaking point when things just start to fall apart.”

Organizer and Ward 6 Councillor Mike Cluett took some time to dispel common rumors circulating about the MDH expansion.

Pointing to the new north Oakville hospital, Cluett said: “The Oakville hospital is designed for Oakville’s growth, not for other communities. We need a made-in-Milton hospital expansion for Milton’s needs now.”

Cluett added that he’s unfazed by naysayers.

“We’ve heard, ‘It’s great you’re doing this but it’s not going to make a difference.’ Well we’d rather go down swinging than not do anything at all. We want to let the provincial government know that it starts with them. Give us the go ahead, and we’ll figure the rest out.”

Playing MC for the event, Scott Fox of Z103.5 said when he moved to town seven years ago he would brag to his friends about the zero wait times at MDH.

“Now the tables have turned,” he said.

“All you have to do is look around at a town that’s bursting at the seams and a hospital that was built decades ago. The fact that people are waiting, they’re being sent to other communities for critical care, surgeries are being postponed because there’s not enough beds — this screams expansion.”

Chudleigh said he hopes the message comes through loud and clear at Queen’s Park. The petition was delivered mere weeks before the Province is expected to release its 10-year infrastructure list for high-priority projects.

Despite what transpires in the next few weeks, Cluett said the momentum for the expansion won’t slow down anytime soon.

“It doesn’t end today. It’s going to continue until the spade is in the ground and we have our hospital.”

Town Council Meeting April 18 2011

Mike Cluett

Tonight is a full meeting of council.  The agenda for the meeting can be found here.

There will be a presentation from the Halton Regional Police Services, a recommendation for the company eSolutions Group as the company in charge of the website for the Milton Centre for the Arts, and a 2010 financial update from KPMG .

I’ll also be providing council an update on the ward 6 Milton Makeover team from last Friday and the all important update of the Grow Milton Rally from Saturday, which despite the weather was a great success.

As always you can view the meeting online by going to the WATCH ONLINE link at the right.  Hope to “see” you there.  If you have any questions on the items included in the agenda, feel free to email me mike@mikecluett.ca

New Piano For Arts Centre

Mike Cluett

There is also a lot of discussion about the piano on the Hawthorne Villager and feel free to click there and contriubute to the feedback.

Arts centre to get classic piano

It’s truly one of a kind.

Handmade in a factory in New York City, the Steinway is reportedly the workhorse of the concert stage, or, as others refer to it, the Cadillac of grand pianos.

Comprised of 12,000 parts and covered under 120 patents, the Steinway piano is the standard among concert performers. Soon, one of these collectibles will find a home at the Milton Centre for the Arts.

It will cost the Town about $115,000 for the piece and centre manager Rob Mackay says it’s an investment Milton can be proud of.

“It’s an absolutely great thing for Milton to open a first-class performance hall with a first-class piano in terms of attracting national and international talent,” he said.  Mackay said many performing arts centres possess Steinway pianos.

However, Milton art centre’s pièce de résistance is the only one in the region, with neither the Oakville or Burlington performing art centres owning a Steinway.

“The Milton Centre for the Arts was built for local talent, and I’m sure they’re going to appreciate this,” Mackay said.

“But we hope to also supplement the use of the centre with national and international performers and they’d be requesting the Steinway. I’m sure the local musicians will be ecstatic about it too.”

The Town is purchasing the piano from Toronto’s Remenyi House of Music, Steinway’s exclusive agent in southern Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

Al Kowalenko, Remenyi’s director of institutional sales, said the Steinway is the standard for concert halls in North America.  “I think what’s really beneficial to Milton is that in the area you’re going to be recognized for having this in the concert hall and this will draw a better caliber of touring and performing artists to your town.”

Kowalenko said in addition to  the craftsmanship, the Steinway sets itself apart by appreciating in value as it gets older rather than depreciating.  He said the value of the piano will increase four to five per cent per year.

“They are considered a hand-made collectable item and on top of that there’s a limited number produced,” he said.

About 2,500 models are made in Steinway’s factories in New York City and Hamburg, Germany, which supplies Europe.  Since they’re handcrafted, no two pianos are alike, which is why the company flies North American buyers out to their New York City showroom to personally pick out their own Steinway.

Mackay said a handful of local musicians have been approached about the opportunity and he suspects by the end of the month, one lucky Miltonian will be off to New York to pick the piano with the perfect sound, tone and colour.  

“This piano, if it’s well looked after, will last as long as the building will last,” said Mackay.

It’s not uncommon for Steinways to last 75 to 100 years, he said.  “It’s really a life-long investment.”

Furthermore Christina Commisso added the following detail on the discussion the committee had regarding this purchase.

Questions raised in piano purchase

Some councillors have raised concerns surrounding the purchase of a Steinway piano for the Milton arts centre.

Town council recently approved spending $115,350, plus HST, on the collectible piano through a single-source procurement — a non-competitive purchase.

The purchase was included in a February report presented to council outlining various items the Town is planning to buy with council’s approval.

“I don’t like any single source procurement. What other options were discussed?” asked Councillor Colin Best.

Town treasurer Linda Leeds said looking at alternative suppliers wasn’t possible as Remenyi House of Music is the only authorized dealer that sells the instrument in the area.

Councillor Greg Nelson proposed a motion that would see the piano purchase presented in its own report, separate from the other purchasing variances.

“That’s a sizeable amount of money,” commented Nelson, stating that including it in the purchasing report didn’t provide enough transparency. “To avoid the optics of trying to slide something under the rug, I propose a report that’s transparent and something council can vote on.”

Nelson’s motion was defeated.

Al Kowalenko of Remenyi told the Champion renting a Steinway would cost between $1,500 and $2,000 a night. He said 98 per cent of concert performers request or require a Steinway piano.

A production grand piano can cost between $30,000 and $50,000, said Kowalenko.

Staff said they hope to have the piano in place for the beginning of the fall season.

I was the seconder to Councillor Nelson’s motion that night as we, along with Councillor’s Best and Malboeuf, thought that there could have been more detail in that report for such a large purchase and the amount was over $100,000.00

Curious to look at different options, I did a quick Google search and found a supplier in the GTA who sells refurbished models of the Steinway product and when after I told him the amount of our purchase he replied “Thats outlandish”.

That motion wasnt put in place to kill the purchase of the piano, as we are well aware in order to attract performers to the Arts Centre, we need to have a quality product for them to use.  Rental of the piano was out of the question due to the amount and the time needed for transportation.  Town staff mentioned during the meeting that other options were looked at, but the report lacked in those details.

The Milton Centre for the Arts is slated for opening this fall, and by deferring this report for futher detail would not have placed the deal in jeopardy but would have provided council with more clarity and an assurance that all the I’s were dotted and the T’s crossed.

The motion for deferral was defeated by 6-4 margin and the purchase has gone ahead.  I have no issues about questioning the dollars spent on items such as this, even though the amounts were already in the budget.  The town is under a growth phase and with the coming 2012 budget discussions dollars will have to be found in the operating budget to limit any potential tax increase.  Its what I promised to do if elected and I will continue to do so.

Traffic Calming Policy Approved

Mike Cluett

Over the last several years, people in Milton have talked about issues in their neighbourhood when it comes to traffic, speeding cars and pedestrian safety.  There have been far too many examples of preventable collisions in our subdivisions using Yates Drive near Bennett as a reference.

Town staff has now come up with a traffic calming policy that came before the Community Services Standing Committee a couple of weeks ago for approval.  This is now sent to council for final approval on the 28th of March.

Here is an article in the Milton Canadian Champion by Christina Commissio that outlines the details.

No speedy process involved with traffic calming – Town’s new policy includes many steps, strict criteria before measures can be put in place

Milton’s first traffic calming policy was presented to councillors last week and judging by the draft plan, getting speeders to slow down won’t be a hurried process. After residents complain to Town Hall about hasty drivers barreling along their streets, it could take up to eight months for a traffic calming measure — speed bumps, curb extensions or stop signs, to name a few — to be installed, and that’s if the street meets the Town’s lengthy checklist.With $45,000 in this year’s budget allocated for traffic calming, the Town’s director of engineering Paul Cripps said one, maybe two, projects can be completed in 2011.

But there’s no shortage of demand.

“We get requests for traffic calming on a regular basis,” said Cripps. “It’s not a problem getting people engaged.”

Public engagement is a key part of the policy, which requires at least 51 per cent of households on the street to sign a petition in favour of the calming measures. If the road gets a green light from the Town, transit and emergency services to install a traffic calming device, the public will be asked for their input on the project, followed by a public meeting and community support survey. The survey has to be completed by at least 25 per cent of households on the street and show a 60 per cent support for the measure. After a traffic calming design is recommended by the Town, it will have to be approved by the Community Services Standing Committee and town council before residents are notified and the measure is implemented.

But before this process takes place, the street will have to meet a stringent point system to qualify for traffic calming. A local roadway must incur 35 points, and a collector roadway, which carries between 1,000 and over 3,000 cars daily, must incur 52 points to be eligible.

Speeding, volume, short-cutting traffic, collisions and road characteristics, such as sidewalks and distance to schools, playgrounds and retail centres will garner points. But racking up points isn’t easy.

To generate points for speeding, the Town will look at the 85 percentile of vehicles on a street, and those driving more than 15 km/h over the speed limit will incur points (once 15 km/h over the limit, five points will be assigned for every additional 2 km/h over). Every two collisions per year on a street generate one point.

One councillor is worried that the point system could be too stringent.

“It’s good to have a traffic calming policy, but will that policy catch roads we feel have major safety concerns,” asked Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo. “Thinking of some of the streets I know of that are high risk, I was trying to add the points in my mind…If drivers are going 65 to 70 km an hour (in a 50 km/h zone), then it would be enough to qualify. But if they’re going 60 or 63 or 64 km/h, it almost seems that there wouldn’t be enough points to qualify.

“I agree we should have some type of formula or calculation so it’s not all about perception. But what use is having a traffic calming policy if the formula doesn’t show many roads need traffic calming?”

Di Lorenzo said he’s curious to find out what streets in town qualify under the policy. During the community services committee meeting, Cripps assured council that certain streets will qualify.

While canvassing the Hawthorne Village neighbourhood while campaigning, Di Lorenzo said road safety and speeding were the most common complaints he heard. “On a street where it’s (speeding) a concern, you’re going to get that majority of people signing the petition.”

During the meeting, Mayor Gord Krantz said he didn’t“want to get the public’s hopes up,” with the policy, explaining that speed bumps, stop signs and lowered speed limits on one street could simply move traffic to a neighbouring street.

However, Cripps said after traffic calming is incorporated on a street, it will be re-evaluated to ensure its effectiveness.

“It’s going to be a learning process to a certain degree to find out what residents of Milton want to see and what they will respect in terms of traffic calming…it’s trial and error, hopefully more trial than error.”

Councillor Greg Nelson, chair of the committee, said he’s worried about a substantial backlog in traffic calming requests.

“There’s no community at all that doesn’t have this problem. The one concern I have is that who doesn’t want a speed bump on their street is going to be a much shorter conversation.”

Request for streets to be surveyed for traffic calming will begin in early April. 

I for one am very glad we now have something in writing when it comes to traffic calming issues and there is more to be done.  This policy is reactionary instead of proactive and I’d like to see what can be done in the sight approval stage of the development of our communities especially in the Boyne survey.

There are some that feel the guidelines are too stringent when it comes to evaluation of a street / area for traffic calming measures.  It surely isnt a fast process, but this will definitely allow the public and the residents of the affected area an opportunity to have their say.  This is similar to the process undertaken when it comes to reviewing the parking by-laws in residential streets.  There first has to be a majority of people on the street wanting a review and then when it comes to input the residents will have to provide their opinions in a public process.

There might be glitches as we work through the process for the first few times and the beauty of this is now it can be amendedif we find issues to help make it a smooth process for residents and staff as well.

I asked Mr Cripps during this presentation about the time limit in between reviews in which he responded that its not in the policy itself but they will be working with the same guidelines as with the parking by-law and have a minimum of a year in between.

Does this mean every area that asks for a traffic calming device will get it?  No, but it will ensure there is a public discussion with those people to come up with solutions that make sense and not cookie cutter answers to traffic control.  As effective as they might be, traffic circles can not be put everywhere, as an example.

Its a good start and I hope people take advantage of this process and work with staff and council to find the best solution possible.

More Feedback on Hospital Expansion Levy

Mike Cluett

In what seems to be a recurring theme in the Milton Champions Letter to the Editor section, there is more feedback on councils decision to implement a 1% tax levy for the potential hospital expansion for MDH.

Most of the comments received by Miltonians on this blog, through email and in the Champion tends to focus on the fact that this decision was made with no public input and because we haven’t received the go ahead from the provincial government.

Dear Editor:

I read with interest the letter by John Challinor in the February 3 Champion entitled, ‘Hospital levy should be rescinded; taxpayers engaged in discussion.’

We agree that the tax levy should be re-opened for further discussion.

As life-long residents of Milton, we don’t oppose paying money toward our hospital expansion. However, we do question why the decision was made so quickly, when the Milton District Hospital expansion isn’t yet approved by the provincial government.

We urge councillors to re-open the tax levy issue for public discussion.

Jean and Joe Gregoris, Milton  

If you haven’t already read Stuart Service’s article in the Halton Compass last week, (front page / second page) suggest you have a read.  In the article, Stuart asks Dalton McGuinty about Milton’s decision to implement the levy and asks the all important question of will this help.  The Premier’s answer is quite telling.

(photo by Stuart Service, courtesy of Halton Compass)

McGunity did not confirm whether or not a MDH levy would increase the towns chance at landing provincial approval for the hospital expansion.

“It’s obviously a sign of a strong committment on the part of the community, but I think that there is a lot of factors that we have to take into account when it comes to what we’re going to put something next.”

He continued…

“At this point in time, we’re talking about a long term plan and none of those decisions have been made yet.  One of the things we have to look at is where do we go going forward with respect to our capital plan.”

“We’re in a significant deficit , its a matter of modest growth, its a time of still too high unemployment.”

Doesn’t necessarily spark optimism now does it?  In fact its the opposite.  As the article mentioned, there were a number of councillors in support of the levy who used the argument that by implementing the tax levy will increase our chances in getting provincial approval.  In fact key members of staff at MDH and Halton Healthcare Services echoed those same comments.  Judging from the Premier’s comments it doesn’t spark any light of hope as we move closer to the time where the provincial government will be making those decisions.

Recently at the Mayor’s Breakfast we had a visit from Minister of Infrastructure Bob Chiarelli (one of the key decision makers in the approval process) came to town to visit the Milton Centre for the Arts and take some time to speak at the breakfast.  In his 25 minute address to the mostly business crowd there wasn’t a mention of the need for hospital expansion in Milton.  A few individuals I spoke with after who attended the meeting were equally as puzzled as to why the much needed expansion and quite possibly the number ONE issue in the town went unaddressed.

Only time will tell if its a success or a failure.  We should find out in time (March / April 2011) if Milton receives the approval from the provincial government to move forward to the design stage of the much needed expansion of MDH.  Since 2001/2002 there have been a number of studies completed by Halton Healthcare Services (at a significant cost) to assess the need for expansion.  That’s a no brainer as many Miltonians are quite aware.  The need is there…there is no doubt of that fact.  The most recent report was completed back in 2008/2009 as to the need and viability of the expansion and nothing has been done since.  In essence, the report is sitting on an in-box somewhere at the province of Ontario.

You want community support?  We only have to turn back a couple of years when over 35,000 Miltonians, via the Friends of Milton Hospital organization collected signatures on postcards that were delivered to the Premiers office telling them of our needs.

We can do something in the meantime.  We can keep the discussion going at all levels, on this blog, on discussion forums, in the coffee shops and restaurants in town and with our MPP Ted Chudleigh.  It’s getting close to that time and if Milton isn’t approved for expansion there will be a lot of very upset residents.