Al Lunney

Soul Scents

Today, it was pleasure to officially open Mill Street Books and Soul Scents. Great news for downtown Almonte.

Posted in Almonte, Downtowns | No Comments »

You may have noticed that the skateboard park adjacent to the arena in Almonte has been dismantled. Firstly, the arena is being expanded and the space is needed for parking, and secondly, the structure was in such a poor state that it was not safe to use.

Over the past three months, a group of skateboarders and parents have been meeting to see if it is feasible to build a new one. They have researched facilities in other neighbouring communities and have started some fundraising.

Tonight a public meeting was held at the Almonte Old Town Hall and approximately 75 people attended. Input was received from the group with many excellent suggestions coming forward on size, location, and fundraising. This is a great initiative by the youth in our community. I congratulate all involved and look forward to hearing the results of their further discussions.

Posted in Almonte | No Comments »

The new Shoppers Drugmart on Ottawa Street will be opening on Thursday, January 14 with the official opening on January 16 at 12 noon. They will be employing 50 employees, 20 of which are fulltime positions- a great boost to our economy.

Posted in Almonte, Mississippi Mills | No Comments »

The following letter was sent to The Ottawa Citizen last night expressing my opinions on the current situation.

RE: Postmistress who knows no French loses job in all-English Pakenham by Tom Spears, Dec. 8, 2009
& Canada Post, Return this decision to sender by Kelly Egan ,Dec 9, 2009

When Bad Things Happen to Good Ideas

Policies are often based on good ideas, but seldom do the creators of the ideas concern themselves with the implementation of those good ideas. The decision to remove Jeanne Barr from her position as postmistress of Pakenham Post Office because she is not bilingual is an example of a good idea gone bad.

First of all, let me say that I believe in the basic principles of bilingualism. I believe that a Canadian has the right to government services in his/her language. But what qualifies a person to be bilingual? When I call a federal government department, I often speak with a “bilingual” person whose English is fractured. The nuances of the English language are often lost in these conversations regarding serious situations such as health, income tax, pensions, etc. Regardless, I accept this as I still believe that both our official languages should be available where numbers are warranted.

However, the implementation of bilingualism should be very different in the capital city than in a small virtually unilingual community. Of the 400 residents in Pakenham Village, I cannot imagine a single person who could not be served effectively by Jeannie Barr. She is known, well-liked and well-respected by the local community.

This latest move by Canada Post to relieve Ms Barr of her job has brought forth a multitude of negative reactions which only divide Canadians. I have heard more negative rhetoric in the last few days than I’ve heard in years. When a policy becomes more important than the people being served, it is time to change the policy. Pakenham is a closely-knit community in which people help people. I know this first-hand as my wife and I both grew up there.

I am proud to serve as the Mayor of Mississippi Mills, which includes Pakenham. Most of our residents are oblivious to the fact that we are in the National Capital Region and as a consequence fall under this bilingualism policy which ironically does not apply to our much larger neighbours in Arnprior and Carleton Place. Our Council will be seriously reviewing what, if any, the advantages are of belonging to the National Capital Region and investigating if there are other “zingers” waiting for us.

Al Lunney, Mayor, Town of Mississippi Mills

Posted in Almonte, Mississippi Mills, National Capital Region, Pakenham | 2 Comments »

Gordon O’Connor, our federal MP for Carleton-Mississippi Mills was in town today to announce that we would be receiving a grant of $216,000 to complete the Riverwalk project in Almonte. This project commenced in 2001 and the majority of the base infrastructure has been completed. This $216,000 will allow the town to extend the Riverwalk along the Old Town Hall, complete structural repairs to the retaining wall at the Old Town Hall and install signage both on the Riverwalk and at the main entrances to Almonte to encourage people to visit the downtown area. We will also be installing environmentally friendly solar lighting along the Riverwalk in areas where lighting does not exist. Thanks to the federal government, special thanks to Gordon O’Connor and to town staff, and to Diane Smithson and Nicole Guthrie for preparing the grant application.

Posted in Almonte, Grants/Funding, Mississippi Mills | No Comments »

In August, the Federal and Provincial governments announced funding in the amount of $1.9 million towards three projects in Mississippi Mills.

• The first of these projects, the resurfacing of Concession 8 in Ramsay, is nearing completion and should be paved by mid-September.
• The Almonte Arena project is in the design stage at present and will be going to tender in late fall.
• The Spring Street reconstruction will commence in early 2009.

Posted in Almonte, Grants/Funding, Ramsay | No Comments »

Good news! The detour on Highway 29 at Pakenham has been removed and the road between Pakenham and Arnprior has been opened.

The bridge in Almonte is nearing completion with a scheduled opening of Labour Day weekend.

Water is scheduled to start flowing over the falls in Almonte by the end of September.

Posted in Almonte, Pakenham | No Comments »

More news from Nathan Rudyk:
Watch both newcomers and existing residents explain why they chose to live in our community as vivid cinemaphotography makes their testimonials come to life.

The Chamber will formally promote the vid’s existence early this fall along with initial smARTown WIFI usage results, fundraising success from their (near-sold-out!) golf tournament, and plans for our 09/10 series of Mixers.

Nathan says thanks and high fives again to Will Richardson and June Veenstra for this latest vid. Two more to come promoting culture and recreation opportunities in our town!

OK, stop reading and start clicking!

Posted in Almonte, Downtowns, Mississippi Mills | No Comments »

I’ve had some enquiries about the construction taking place beside the Tim Hortons on Ottawa Street. It is the site of the new Shopper’s Drug Mart scheduled to be completed in the fall.

Also the apartment building that was proposed at the corner of Perth Street and Highway 29 is back on the books with new owners.

The Town has also received a grant from Valley Heartland to construct new signs for the entrances into Almonte. These signs will be similar to the ones already in the local communities of Appleton, Blakeney, Clayton and Pakenham.

Posted in Almonte, Grants/Funding | No Comments »

In April of this year, Council approved the transfer of the administrative staff from the Community Centre to the Tourism Centre in the Almonte Old Town Hall. Calvin Murphy, the Recreation Coordinator and Nicole Guthrie, the Community Cultural Programmer are now located in the new location. As a result, for security reasons, if there are no events taking place at the Community Centre, you will find it locked. Staff telephone numbers remain the same.

Posted in Almonte | 2 Comments »