milton canadian champion

Halton Police Update

Mike Cluett

File this one under REALLY?  So far this year Halton Police have laid almost 300 impaired driving charges. 

“Halton police report that since Jan. 1, 2010, 295 drivers on Halton roads have been arrested for impaired driving. A total of 123 impaired charges have been laid in Burlington followed by 87 in Oakville, 49 in Milton and 36 in Halton Hills. Police say that of the 13 traffic fatalities recorded in the region this year, alcohol was a contributing factor in four of them.”

It seems that with the increased awareness of the problem and more RIDE programs set in place, some people are not getting the message.  13 people in Halton died unnecessarily in my opinion.  Drinking and driving is totally preventable.  Just dont do it!

After our Milton Community Policing Committee meeting earlier this week, Const. Floyd said that Halton Police will be starting the RIDE program for this holiday season and will be out in full force.

It doesnt take that much of an extra effort to do the right thing.  The Champion article outlines a number of things you can do to help make our roads safer.

• If you plan to drive, don’t drink

• Choose a sober designated driver before partying

• Take public transit, a taxi or ask a friend to drive you home

• Spend the night where the activity is being held

• Immediately report impaired drivers to police

• Always wear your seat belt

Do the right thing…and help make this holiday season safer for everyone.  There are very few people who have had their lives affected by drinking & driving.  Either you know someone personally or know of someone who has lost a friend or loved one due to this totally preventable crime.

If you see someone who shouldnt be driving, try to stop them.  If not, call 911.  You could be saving a life!

And continuing with my previous post on Lock it or Lose it here is another article from the Milton Canadian Champion on unattended vehicles being stolen from peoples driveways.

Unattended, idling vehicles become stolen vehicles: police

Don’t let that warm car result in a cold walk this winter.As the Christmas season and the cold weather have returned, Halton Regional Police are issuing reminders to residents about precautionary measures they can take to prevent their valuables, including their vehicle, from being stolen.

Police say that between Nov. 3, 2009 and Jan. 14, 2010, 25 vehicles were stolen in Halton that had been left unattended and idling by their owners. Fifteen of those thefts occurred in Milton in the Derry Road community.

In Milton, leaving a vehicle unattended with the engine running is illegal under a town by-law and could result in a $75 fine.  An unattended running vehicle that is locked, even if it is in your driveway or in your garage, is still a target for thieves.

Police also warn about leaving car doors open or any items in plain view wherever you park your vehicle.

“Crimes of opportunity occur when we don’t take the necessary precautions such as locking our vehicles and placing items out of sight,” said a Halton police press release.

While there is no guarantee against becoming a victim of vehicle theft, or having your vehicle broken into, Halton police offer the following safety tips:

• Park in well-lit and attended areas

• Never leave your vehicle unattended with the engine running. Turn off the ignition and take the keys with you

• Always lock all doors and windows

• Never leave personal identification or valuables in your vehicle. Lock all valuables in the trunk. Don’t tempt thieves by leaving packages, cameras or purses in plain view

• Remove GPS navigation and cellphone devices when not in your vehicle

• Mount CD and MP3 players inconspicuously

• If you have a garage, use it and lock your car

• Never hide a spare key in your car

For more crime prevention ideas, visit www.haltonpolice.ca and follow the link to Community Policing.

And to illustrate this even further, here is this weeks Milton Police Blotter from the Champion.

BMW stolen while left warming

A 2006 BMW 325 valued at $30,000 was stolen from a driveway after the owner left it idling before his drive to work.  The incident on Huffman Crescent took place at 5:15 a.m. Monday.

Computer equipment taken from school

Overnight Monday, a portable classroom at St. Peter Catholic Elementary School on Dixon Drive was broken into.  During the incident a laptop computer and two Alpha Smart keyboards were taken.  Their estimated value is $2,200.

Car stolen during the day

A 2008 white Ford Edge was taken between noon and 9 p.m. November 17.  The car had been parked on Main Street East.

Milton Community Police Committee Update

Mike Cluett

As regular readers of the blog will know, I am a member of the Milton Community Policing Committee (MCPC)and we have monthly meetings about community outreach with the Halton Police Department and promote programs to help raise awareness of safety / crime issues in Halton.

Its been reported recently that despite the massive growth in the area, Halton remains the safest community in Canada. I think that’s a direct result of the officers in Halton and the great job they do.

During our meeting last night, they reported on some recent statistics of different crimes that are on the rise. A majority of them included car theft / property theft from peoples driveways.

In the last couple of weeks, Halton Police have had several incidences of vehicle theft as people start their cars in the morning and leave them unattended. Its important for people to realize that even though our community is “safe” there are still people from both inside and outside the region who are on the prowl looking for opportunities.

The MO of many of them are driving around neighbourhoods looking for unattended cars that are running, quickly checking to see if they are unlocked and driving off with them. The best line of defense is to either not let your car warm up unattended and unlocked or invest in an automatic car starter that locks the doors while its running.

Another disturbing trend is property theft from vehicles. People leave valuables like cell phones, wallets, laptops etc in plain view and that’s just too much of a temptation for criminals to do the quick smash and grab. The Halton Regional Police force are now embarking on a campaign to help raise awareness of this called “Lock it or lose it”

From the Halton Police website:

Lock It or Lose It

With the holiday season on the horizon, the Halton Regional Police Service would like to remind citizens to be cognizant and diligent by locking their vehicles and hiding valuable items.

Adhering to the following proactive recommendations may deter thieves from stealing your valuables:

1. Locking your vehicle and removing all valuable items from plain view. Items such as: GPS units, laptops, wallets, cellular phones and any other item of monetary value.

2. Simply locking your vehicle while valuable items are still visible inside provides a false sense of security. Thieves will smash the windows in order to gain quick access to these valuables.

3. Be particularly cognizant when purchasing expensive electronic equipment and then storing it in your vehicle. The best alternative is to transport these items directly to your home. If this is not a feasible option, lock the valuable item in the trunk of your vehicle.

4. Do not leave your vehicle running, unlocked and unattended while warming up in the driveway. Thieves have stolen vehicles from various driveways while they have been left operating unattended.

Don’t enable these thieves to steal your valuable items. Remove the opportunity and reduce your likelihood of being victimized.

Anyone with suspect information or information pertaining to any thefts is asked to call the Burlington Criminal Investigations office at 905-825-4747 extension 2316 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

One of the things that the MCPC will be doing in the coming weeks is handing out brochures with this information at high traffic areas like shopping malls, GO Station, grocery stores etc to help remind people to be aware of the surroundings and to do what they can to make it difficult for these types of crimes to happen.  We will be working with the principals of Milton schools to see if they can help distribute this information as well so it gets in the hands of people.

The Committee is always looking for more volunteers to help out and to join us and help take part in initiatives like this to help raise awareness in our own neighbourhoods.  There have been quite a few new people joining us and we’re always looking for more.  There are a lot of ideas that we would like to implement and the more people we have helping us out the better.  Send me an email mike@mikecluett.ca if you are interested in joining the MCPC.  We meet monthly and combined with our activities its not a lot of time to spend, but it is worthwhile.

You can find out more about the programs of the Halton Police on their website www.haltonpolice.ca

Milton Santa Claus Parade 2010

Mike Cluett

It was a little chilly but still an entertaining day on Main Street in Milton.  Thousands of people despite the cold wind and the snow earlier on in the day made their way to downtown Milton for its annual Santa Claus Parade.  Over 50 floats made their way down Main Street to sing songs, dance, and promote a wonderful family oriented holiday season.

MiltonToday TV was there live online … I didn’t get a chance to go over and say HI but they apparently did a very good job broadcasting the parade online.  I’ll have to go check them out.  From where we were (in front of Knox Presp. Church) you could see the MiltonToday HQ.  Milton’s parade gets better and better as the years go on and this one didnt disappoint.  Mrs. Claus apparently needed some extra time to get her make up ready according to one of the parade marshals Colin Best but it took only about 2 hours for the parade be completed.

Troy’s Diner had an amazing float and a collection of dancers that knocked the socks off of a lot of people along the parade route.  Speaking with Tiger Ali Singh at Troy’s later this evening, he said next year was going to be bigger … and better.  “TIGER STYLE” as he put it.  You know its going to be big!

The Shriners as always did an amazing job.  Anthony now wants to see if he can ride those motorized scooters around soon.  Im almost afraid of what he would do in one of those.  The dancers from all the different groups looked cold but were still going strong at the half way point in the parade.  The parade was full of energy and shouts of “MERRY CHRISTMAS” can be heard all over the route.

Here are just some of the pictures we took along the parade route.  We had a fabulous time and congratulations to the organizational committee for another well done event.

Mo Movember

Mike Cluett
From left, Shaun Noronha, Derek McGowan and Eddie Fiore show their mustaches. Courtesy of The Milton Canadian Champion

I posted earlier this week about some Miltonians who are taking part in Movember…growing the moustashe throughout the month of November, to help raise awareness for men’s health.

Brad Dickerson, Brian Best, Martin Capper and Peter Near are four Miltonians that I knew about directly who were participating but according to Jeremy Grimaldi of the Milton Canadian Champion there are many more including a few from Rock This Way:  The School of Rock on Main Street.

I think its great that people are getting behind this and helping to raise awareness of men’s health issues including all to familiar prostate cancer which is a disease that close to 25,000 men in Canada will be diagnosed with this year alone.

Here’s the MO-tivational article by Jeremy at the Milton Canadian Champion.  Go visit their “MO-spaces” and donate as much as you can.

Miltonians growing mustaches in fundraising craze

Jeremy Grimaldi, CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF

November 18, 2010

Five Milton musicians have donated their faces to raise money for prostate cancer in a new campaign that’s sweeping the Western world.

Movember, mo being slang for moustache, was first created by two radio disc jockeys in Australia before it eventually went global reaching the UK, South Africa and now Canada.

Throughout this month thousands of Canadian men will raise millions of dollars to help with research and awareness about prostate cancer — a disease that 25,000 men will be diagnosed with in Canada this year alone.

In Milton, Eddie Fiori, Shaun Noronha and Derek McGowan of Rock This Way: The School of Rock on Main Street East have spent about two weeks growing mustaches and raising about $500 for Movember.

By the end of the month, they hope to raise $2,000 and develop true ‘Tom Selleck-style’ mustaches.

Fiori, 27, who owns the school, said growing mustaches, which he feels look silly on certain people, puts a positive spin on a serious issue. “I wanted to do it because I wanted to raise money for cancer. A close friend of mine passed away from testicular cancer not too long ago so although Movember raises the money for prostate cancer I think it raises awareness for men’s health in general.”

Milton-born McGowan, who’s a guitar instructor, said he thought he looked like a musician from the southern American band from the ’70s, Lynyrd Skynard.

“This is a big deal,” he said. “And Movember is a great way to raise money for a good cause.”

Movember has grown so large in the Great White North in the last few years, that last year the Canadian campaign placed second in the world, behind Australia, with 35,156 people coming together to raise $7.8 million for Prostate Cancer Canada.

Anyone that wants to help out the Rock This Way team, which also includes Michael Banks and David Partridge, is asked to visit www.movember.com and type Rock This Way when prompted under the donate section.

Councillor-elect Mike Cluett has also added pictures and profiles of other Movember participants on his website/blog at www.mikecluett.ca.

Residents Association Formed

Mike Cluett

If you go way back in the archives of this blog…way back to the 2006 campaign, I made a point that residents should be more engaged in the political process locally.  There are many ways to accomplish this.  One of them is making sure that residents are informed as much as possible about decisions that affect them directly and indirectly.  I stressed during this campaign that I would make sure I continue to knock on doors in between election campaigns, and not just during them.

If there was a public meeting coming up about an issue that would affect residents, I will do my best to get out there and inform people of that meeting, whats being discussed, how it will affect them and how they can participate.  Not everyone can make every town hall or public meeting, but I will make sure they have a voice around the table.

Another great way is by a residents association or Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC).  These groups are usually formed when the local officials aren’t listening to the needs and concerns of residents.  Recently, there was a new association formed in the Hawthorne Village area, which encompasses Ward 6, but it was formed for an entirely different reason.

During the last election campaign, I noticed an increase in awareness of local issues by residents in my ward.  Other councillors and candidates would say the same thing.  The Hawthorne Village Residents Association (HVRA) was formed by several concerned residents to be a part of the process, to stay involved and to work with council when decisions are being made.  I applaud all the members and participants in this process and will do my best to work with them and keep the lines of communication open.

Christina Commisso at the Milton Canadian Champion did an article recently about the formation of the HVRA.  Congratulations to Martin Capper and Andrew Salmons for co-chairing this committee as well as the many people who signed up.  We can only hope this will help enhance the flow of communication from town council to the residents in Milton.

Here is the article from the Champion.

Residents group forms

Christina Commisso, CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF November 16, 2010

What started as an online discussion following the municipal election has ballooned into a newly-formed residents group that hopes to strengthen the lines of communication between Miltonians and town council.

“We started with a post on the Hawthorne Villager (website), which got 1,600 hits and 60 posts from 20 different people in a matter of days,” said Martin Capper, co-chair of the Hawthorne Village Residents Association (HVRA).

The group isn’t exclusive to Hawthorne Village residents — it’s open to all Miltonains, he said.

CLICK ON THE LINK FOR MORE.

For more information, email HawthorneVillageRA@gmail.com.

Santa Claus Parade Needs Volunteers

Mike Cluett

 

In yesterday’s Milton Canadian Champion the word went out that this years installment of the Santa Claus parade needs volunteers to help.  If you are interested, please contact Samanta Attew at (905) 693-0369.

You can find out more about the 2010 Milton Santa Claus Parade by going to www.miltonsantaclausparade.org which contains information on sponsors, the parade route and contact information if you would like to help out.

Last year over 20,000 people attended the parade and this year looks to top that number.  Sunday November 21st is the date.  There will be a bus that collects food for the Salvation Army, so please bring some non-perishable items and it will be collected along the parade route.  Letters to Santa are also welcome from the children and will be “express deleivered” to the big guy himself.

If you would like to download a map of the parade route, click here.  It’s the same route as last year (the date on the map is 2009)

I’ll look forward to seeing everyone there at the parade.