Minutes from last meeting is posted!

EVERYONE WELCOME!

Please join us for the upcoming CARP General Meeting of the Greater Sudbury Chapter

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2011

BEGINNING AT 2.00 P. M.

The meeting will take place at the Parkside Centre OACS,

140 Durham Street Sudbury, Ontario

TOPICS FOR THE NOVEMBER GENERAL MEETING INCLUDE:
 

“CANADA PENSION PROGRAM (CCP) – CHANGES –  Presented by Louise Morin of Service Canada.

The presentation will address the new rules to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) including higher penalties for applying before 65, greater incentives to delay until 70, an increase in the percentage of low-income years that can be dropped in the calculations etc. & will also cover other related Service Canada issues.

Question & answer period will follow.

 “CARP UPDATES” – By Patricia Douglas Chairperson Sudbury Chapter.

 PLAN TO ATTEND – EVERYONE WELCOME

Of our respondents:
56.56% said yes
27.78% said no while approximately 11% said somewhat.

It would seem that gas prices does play a role in automobile use.
Thank you to all who participated.

Are you limiting your automobile use because of gas prices?

The Mayor and Council’s Roundtable on Children and Youth will provide complimentary Greater Sudbury Transit passes to local youth this summer as an initiative to encourage more young people to ride public transit to local community programs and sports venues.

This is the fourth summer the City of Greater Sudbury has  distributed Transit passes to youth. Recognizing the program’s popularity and the positive impact it had on youth transit use and the environment, Greater Sudbury City Council has extended the program for 2011.

2,500 passes will be distributed throughout the community, providing youth ages 12 to 24 with five free rides on Greater Sudbury Transit.
Passes will be distributed through local social service agencies and all branches of the Greater Sudbury Public Library.

Youth who are interested in obtaining a five-ride pass are asked to visit the nearest branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library.  Passes will be released in two batches starting Monday, July 11 and Monday, August 8. Passes will be distributed on a first-come, first- served basis, at a maximum of two per person.

“We congratulate St. John School and we thank all schools for participating in this year’s contest,” said VETAC member Wayne Hugli, who spearheaded the contest in Greater Sudbury. “Our goal as a committee is to beautify the entire community, but we have a special dedication to our local schoolyards. Children should be free to play in a natural outdoor space. We are very fortunate to have the generous support of our local business community to achieve this important objective.”

With the support of Xstrata Nickel, VETAC also awards runner-up prizes each year, which provide financial assistance to create schoolyard green spaces. This year’s runner-up prizes go to: Walden Public School, Lively; École Ste. Thérèse, Val Thérèse; and Gatchell Public School, Sudbury.

Project planning has begun, and the schoolyard transformations will take place this fall.

The decision to close the Sudbury Wastewater Treatment Plant R.V. Dumping Station has been made for the safety of motorists. Access to the dumping station is through an active construction zone. The City of Greater Sudbury apologizes for the inconvenience.

• Tax bills that have not yet been mailed can be paid in person at Citizen Service Centres or at Tom Davies Square. A full list of Citizen Service Centres is available online at www.greatersudbury.ca . No extensions will be granted for tax bill payments.
• The City’s Accounts Receivable department will send invoices by fax or email where possible. Payments can be made at any Citizen Service Centre.
• The spring/summer issue of the City newsletter will be distributed on Tuesday, June 7 and Thursday, June 9, to all households through the Northern Life newspaper.
• Contractors and suppliers who have not yet provided the City with banking details for electronic fund transfers are asked to do so to prevent any delay in payment. The EFT form is available online at www.greatersudbury.ca/content/div_suppliesservices/documents/etf_form-en.pdf .
• Contractors and suppliers can forward invoices via email to accounts.payable@greatersudbury.ca or by fax to 705-673-0344. Citizens may contact Accounts Payable at 705-674-4455 ext. 4271 to discuss options for cheque receipt.
• Contracts for facility rentals can be faxed or scanned to the appropriate City department. For more information, please contact the relevant City department.
• Registration forms for leisure programs can be dropped off at Citizen Service Centres, or citizens can register by calling 3-1-1 if paying by credit card. Online registration is available for some programs at https://register.greatersudbury.ca . Registration forms can also be faxed to 705-673-7219.
• Ontario Works cheques will be available for pick-up; Ontario Works clients are asked to contact their case worker to coordinate a pick-up time and location.
• Residents who wish to have mail delivered to the City during a postal strike can drop clearly marked mail off at Citizen Service Centres for interoffice delivery.
• Parking tickets, as well as traffic, speeding and provincial offences fines can be paid online at www.greatersudbury.ca .

Any mail sent via Canada Post on or before May 30, 2011, will be delivered to the City prior to the start of a strike. For more information, please call 3-1-1.

Program summary
Citizens on patrol is a community-based program whose role is to provide additional eyes and ears in the community.

Volunteers provide mobile observation in the community in groups of two or more and report suspicious or concerning behaviour to the police.

Applying
Application forms are available at the Greater Sudbury Police Services Headquarters & satellite offices, Greater Sudbury Citizens Service Centres (Garson Library) or online at www.police.sudbury.on.ca.
Applicants must be a minimum of 18 years old and past of police background check. Training is provided.

For more information
If you are interested in learning more about citizens on patrol, please contact the volunteer coordinator at 675-9171 extension 2335.

Be part of the solution!

The PSA – featuring Terry Callaghan & Mellaney Dahl from the Q92 morning show, and produced by EastLink TV – focuses on the financial impact of a drunk driving conviction.

The idea to create the message followed an April, 2011 interview with Greater Sudbury Police Chief Frank Elsner, where he discussed the potentially devastating financial impact of an impaired driving conviction. From fines and legal expenses, through mandatory ignition interlock installation, and long-term insurance costs.

“I think this is one aspect of an impaired conviction that many people don’t consider,” said Chief Elsner. “Maybe that’s one reason why we still see impaired driving in Greater Sudbury. Even beyond enforcement, education is key to stopping people from making dangerous decisions. Creative and informative messages like this go a long way in helping us do our job.”

The PSA will be simultcast tomorrow on Q92 and EastLink TV, Thursday May 12, at 7:15 am during Terry and Mell’s show. It will also run throughout regular programming on EastLink TV in the coming months and will be available on www.q92rocks.com; www.gsps.ca/en/specializedservices/traffic.asp (Greater Sudbury Police website); and www.whosyourDD.com (the Sudbury Taskforce to Remove Impared Driving Everywhere – S.T.R.I.D.E.)
Terry and Mell hope that people seeing the video will be shocked enough to think twice about getting behind the wheel after drinking. The overall message is to ‘think before you drink’ and make plans to get home safely before you go out.

“We have the opportunity here to deliver an important message to a lot of people,” said Mell. “We want our listeners to understand every devastating impact of impaired driving, so hopefully the next time they’re out for a couple of drinks, they’ll do the right thing and find a safe ride home.”

Terry said he was shocked when he read the figures. “This is many people’s annual salary”, he said, “let’s get some perspective. A year’s salary versus twenty-five bucks for a cab? To me, that’s a no-brainer.”

Sudbury’s Best Rock, Q92 has partnered with STRIDE in an effort to educate, increase awareness and eventually eliminate impaired driving in Greater Sudbury. Everyone assisting with, and appearing in the spot volunteered their time to the cause:

Terry and Mell, Q92 Morning Show
James Janiszewski, EastLink TV
Sergeant Gary Lavoie, Greater Sudbury Police Service
Josee Repele, Grade 12 student at College Notre Dame (and Mell’s niece)
Kate Furlotte, STRIDE and Rogers Radio Sudbury

(The PSA is on youtube at this location)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HcPzN1ZXmA

Greater Sudbury Transit will be running on a Sunday schedule for Good Friday, April 22, 2011 and full schedule Easter Monday, April 25, 2011.

There will be no Blue Box, Green Cart or household garbage collection on Good Friday.

Residents who normally receive household waste collection service on Fridays are asked to leave garbage, Blue Box recyclables and Green Carts at the curb by 7 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, April 23.

Greater Sudbury landfill sites and the Recycling Centre will also close on Good Friday, April 22.

Landfill sites and the Recycling Centre are open on Monday, April 25. Household waste collection services are not affected.

For more information, please call the City of Greater Sudbury at 3-1-1. or follow us on Twitter @greatersudbury.