milton canadian champion

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.

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.

Landslide Victory for Cluett

Mike Cluett

From the Milton Canadian Champion

Mike Cluett, 2010 candidate for Milton's Ward 6.

CLUETT, Mike 1216 (78.71%)

SOOMRO 329 (21.29%)

Mike Cluett has become the new councillor for Ward 6 following a landslide victory.

The father of two said he was motivated to get into public office to ensure a positive future for his offspring, and last night he got off on the right foot to do so.

Cluett said he was pleased with voter turnout in the new ward.

He said: “We tried to get as many people out as possible as the number of voters going out to the polls has been dropping the last couple of years.

“Considering this is a new ward I think we did well.”

He added that his first order of business in office would be to tackle the budget and to ensure councillors start “sharpening their pencils.”

His opponent, Maqsood Soomro, conceded defeat saying running for office had been a “wonderful experience.”

He said: “I think I did better than a lot of people expected, but there always has to be one winner and one loser.”

Demographics Are Changing & Trustee Debate

Mike Cluett

Here is an article by Christina Commisso of the Milton Canadian Champion regarding some of the events coming out of the most recent Administration & Planning committee meeting.

“We heard from (Milton trustee) Donna Danielli that the school board was working on base statistics of about three children coming out of a household. Last week we learned it could be up to double that,” said Councillor Paul Scherer at last week’s town council meeting. “The implications in terms of us not getting those numbers right going forward could have a tremendous impact on the tax base in Milton.”

Paul brings up a valid point.  If we as a council moving forward, make plans for programs we need to know if there are any major changes to the demographics in town.

To say that Milton is a family friendly town would be an understatement.  There are some streets I canvass in Ward 6 that its easier to count on one hand the number of homes without children.  You can call it Milton’s Baby Boom.

Councillor Scherer asked town staff to come back to the new council with an updated report on population projections as we are rapidly approaching the beginning of the Boyne Survey.  The “Boyne” as its referred to, will be the newest development in Milton that will bring close to 60,000 new Miltonians to town.  It stretches from James Snow Parkway from the east to Tremaine Road in the west, all just south of Louis St Laurent.

During this election, you have heard from candidates that we need “better planning”.  I think this report will go a long way to making sure we are on track with projections.  It’s not just a matter of the number of homes built and roads that are  constructed…its other services that the Town of Milton provides that might be under even FURTHER strain.  It’s services like the library, recreational facilities, and more importantly schools.  If we are low in our projections, down the road we will be squeezed at the delivery of the many services the town provides.

I look forward to reading this report when it comes back to council on the 20th of December.  I invite you to send me your comments, questions and concerns to mike@mikecluett.ca and I’ll add you to my email list for when updates on this are issued.

**********

Also, last night I attended the only all candidates meeting for the public and separate school board trustees in Milton.  I’ve talked about this position before as one that’s seems to be overlooked by a lot of people.  In fact, in previous elections, they used to have the trustees go first because most people would leave the debates/meetings after the Mayor and Regional Council speeches.

These people are entrusted to deal with the developments in our schools and the safety of our children…and most people don’t even know who the trustees are.  Last night 4 of the 5 candidates vying for the 2 jobs had a chance to speak and tell us a little about them.  I must admit, it was nice being on the OTHER side of the table for once.  Being a candidate myself, Im used to being the one talking instead of the one listening.

The candidates for Public School Trustee are Nancy MacNeil, Brian Hawley and Jafar Alam (Jafar wasn’t there last night due to a business engagement).  Both Brian and Nancy did a great job letting us know a little about them and what they would do if elected.  Its hard to talk about what you will be able to do, if you dont know the job or have no experience so both candidates were brutally honest about that fact.  Its going to be a tough choice for sure.

The other two candidates are running for the Halton Catholic School Board position.  Sandor Koso is the current trustee, but Diane Rabenda is a strong challenger and from the comments I heard last night from those in attendance, its a coin toss.  Great candidates all around.

Speaking of All Candidates meetings, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that tomorrow (Wednesday) is an All Candidates Meeting for the wards 1, 6, 7 & 8.  All candidates for all positions have said they will be there, so this is a good opportunity for you to come out and see what your next  council might look like.  You can go to the Hawthorne Villager website and get more info on times and location.

If you come on Wednesday, please stop me and say HI!  Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Milton Historical Society All Candidates

Mike Cluett

Ward 6 Council Candidate Mike Cluett addresses the full house on Tuesday night for the All Candidates Meeting held by the Milton Historical Society

This past Tuesday evening at the Milton Fairgrounds, the Historical Society of Milton held the first of many all candidates meetings.  There were a lot of interested people filling the seats which was close to an open house.  At the front of the room sat over 25 candidates for office in Milton for the upcoming election, including yours truly.

On most peoples minds was the fate of St Pauls United Church, located in downtown Milton.  There have been many news articles on the situation at St Pauls and it weighed heavily in the room.  Designate or demolish?  When someone thinks of the demolition of St Pauls, an image of a large piece of machinery sitting in Main Street with a large cement ball comes to mind.  This isn’t the type of demolition that is being looked for by the congregation of St Pauls.

What do we do with other properties in Milton to protect them from similar fates?  As a town, how do we help owners of heritage properties in order to preserve Milton’s historical integrity?

As I and many other candidates from the newer area of Milton talked about the importance of protecting and preserving our history and heritage properties, the candidates from the local area were called upon for questions ranging from the obvious topic of St Paul’s to the restoration of downtown Milton, the affects of the Conservation Halton legislation on the flood plains among others.

It was a good chance to see some of the other first time candidates in action and to see if they understood the importance of the issues or if they still have something to learn.  The answers arent always easy and in some cases its not what people wanted to hear.

Here is a link to the recap of the meeting from Christina Commisso from the Milton Canadian Champion.

All in all I thought it was a productive meeting with much needed discussion about what to do.  It shouldn’t take an election campaign for the town, the councillors and the parties involved to get working on a solution to move forward.

A quick campaign update for you.  Over the last few days I have been working hard at talking to the residents of Ward 6 as well as keep up with the what seems to be the ever increasing demand for lawn signs.  If you would like to show your support for Mike Cluett in this election, send me an email mike@mikecluett.ca or click on my CONTACT page to call me and I will have one put up as quickly as possible.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Steam Era 2010 This Weekend

Mike Cluett

For 50 years, the Milton Steam Era has ushered in the end of summer with its annual event.  This weekend is a time to bring out the kids and learn some history about the ways things used to be.

Stephanie Hounsell has a great article in the Champion this week as well.

Going full steam ahead – Fiftieth Steam-Era show this weekend

Neil Ford stands between two of the Rumely tractors he has restored and will display during this Labour Day weekend’s 50th annual Steam-Era event at the Milton Fair Grounds. Ford attended the first show 50 years ago and has the W 20-30 Rumely tractor that was displayed at the first show.

The year was 1961, and Neil Ford was a young man excited about attending the first-ever Steam-Era show at the Milton Fair Grounds.

It was something new and exciting for the then-small town, and the largely agricultural community embraced it wholeheartedly in the years to come, earning Milton the title “Steam Capital of Ontario.”

Fifty years later, Ford still eagerly anticipates the annual show, which this year will start tomorrow and continue until Monday.

It’s the tractors rather than the steam engines that draw Ford year after year, particularly Rumely tractors, of which he’ll display eight in the upcoming event, including one from the inaugural show.

The 50th anniversary of the Steam-Era is one that has the members of the Ontario Steam and Antique Preservers Association — which puts on the show — excited.

“It’s a milestone for sure,” said past president David Stirk.

As usual, the Steam-Era will take place at the Milton Fair Grounds, with the grounds opening at 8 a.m. each day and closing after the evening’s featured entertainment, except Monday, when activities will wrap up in the late afternoon.

Saturday’s ever-popular Steam-Era parade, starting at about 1 p.m., will see machines big and small lumber along downtown Main Street from Commercial Street to Bell Street and then to the fairgrounds.

Opening ceremonies will take place at 2 p.m., with a handful of the original association members on hand.

The show will feature a wide array of operating steam traction engines — a type of agricultural tractor powered by steam in the late 1800s and early 1900s — and stationary steam engines, all painstakingly restored to their original glory. Also featured will be vintage operating gas tractors and stationary engines, along with antique cars.

There will be demonstrations (sawmill, threshing, etc.), tractor pulls, steam-powered corn roasts, steam engine spark shows, daily grand parades of equipment and more. There will also be toys, crafts, music, a flea market and food vendors.

In recognition of the event’s anniversary, a tent will feature items and machines from the first 10 years of the Steam-Era.  Something new this year is an exhibit by the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association featuring a live observation hive.

Saturday at 7:30 p.m., the 33rd annual Country and Western Talent Contest will take place, while Sunday at 7 p.m. will feature music by Digger and the Campfire Country Music Band.

There’ll be something for everyone, Stirk said, adding this might be the best steam show in all of North America. People come from far away to attend.

Steam engines have fascinated Stirk for a long time.

“It’s that proverbial bug — almost like catching the flu,” he said of his fascination. “You get that steam bug and you’re stuck with it.”

Much has changed since the first Steam-Era, when admission cost 75 cents. These days, many people don’t come to remember, but to learn something new, said Stirk, who hopes new residents will give it a try.

“I can’t urge them enough. It’s a whole different form of entertainment. It’s not an amusement park, it’s not a fair, it’s a festival,” he said.

Admission costs $8 for adults and is free for kids under 12 with an adult. Weekend passes are available for $17. Admission fees include each night’s entertainment.

For more information on the Steam Era go to www.steam-era.com and see the details of what’s happening all Labour Day weekend long.

I hope to see you there.