Happy Canada Day

Enjoy your day everyone.....................

Funnelly Enough ,the West Island may have had a Twister

Freaky Weather around the West Island today,............Twister  ??  You Decide

MONTREAL - With a front moving over the city Monday afternoon, residents on the West Island spotted what looked a lot like a funnel cloud and possibly a weak tornado around 3:30 p.m.

Television station LCN had a photograph of the funnel cloud under very dark skies spotted in Ste. Anne de Bellevue and Kirkland.

Environment Canada meteorologist René Héroux was confirming with the weather stations whether or not this truly was a weak tornado.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Possible+tornado+lashes+West+Island/3212450/story.html#ixzz0sDFupEA0

Are You Powerless ? Some Montrealers are right now.

Seems one of those fantastic & quick Thunder Storms hit Montreal & about 6000 are without power.How this made the paper I don't know, you can get almost 6000 or more people in one highrise downtown..However.

I used to love those great summer storms complete with Lightning & heavy rain......great stuff.......and that Booming Thunder that could shake the house.

MONTREAL - As of 9 p.m., 6,000 clients were without power on the Island of Montreal due to thunderstorms and high winds, said Hydro-Québec spokesperson Elaine Beaulieu.

Hydro-Québec is working on restoring the power as soon as possible. A severe thunderstorm watch was posted for the Montreal region for much of Monday night.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Storm+cuts+power+Montrealers/3213066/story.html#ixzz0sCemLhyx

I'm lost.

I don't know if i have ever moved over to here from the orginal. verdun connection site and this one looks very difficult to move around it .but i'll try..

St.Lawrence Sinks to New Lows....or dragging your bottom distinct possibility

                MONTREAL - As part of a bi-national strategy to manage this summer's historically low water levels in the St. Lawrence, Canadian and United States officials have agreed to release more water from Lake Ontario through the dam in Cornwall.

Hundreds of thousands of cubic feet per second is already being drawn from Lake Ontario and the flow through the Cornwall dam could be more than doubled by the end of summer, Peter Yeomans said Sunday.

"The past month we've been managing this precious resource on a day-to-day basis," said Yeomans, a Canadian member of the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control, the Canada-U.S. agency that manages water levels in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence.

But given that Lake Ontario's shoreline recedes up to nine metres with each additional centimetre the lake's water level is reduced, Yeomans quickly added, the decision is not without risks and environmental costs.

Lake Ontario "could be drawn down by up to four centimetres" and the lake's level already has been reduced by 1.4 centimetres to deal with the lower water levels that have resulted from this winter's lighter-than-usual snowfall, he said.

Yeomans made the comments as Canadian government officials stepped up their campaign to warn recreational boaters and mariners of the increased risk of running aground in the St. Lawrence and to update navigational charts before leaving the harbour.

This weekend, the water level in Lac St. Louis as measured at a federal government gauging station at the foot of Cartier Ave. in Pointe Claire stood at 20.6 metres above sea level, a dangerously low level and the point at which a one-centimetre change in the water level signals an alert for the seaway.

No matter how familiar a recreational boater may be with the St. Lawrence, this summer it is necessary to check the latest data available on water levels and to update the marine charts that are used for navigation, said Nathalie Letendre, a spokesperson for the Canadian Coast Guard's operations in Quebec.

Letendre said the federal government website www.marinfo.gc.ca is updated daily with data collected by the Canadian Hydrographic Service at gauging stations along the St. Lawrence.

But there's nothing like hearing a first-hand account from a fellow boater who has damaged his keel or hit rocks and taken out a motor to get even the most seasoned recreational boater to double-check his marine charts.

Vaclav Soucek, the harbour manager at the Pointe Claire Yacht Club, said some members with deeper keels have been unable to get out and other members have hit rocks and sandy shoals while on the water.

"We're telling people to not cut corners and to stay dead centre in the channels," Soucek said.

But Jin Frati, the sailing master at the Beaconsfield Yacht Club, said while water levels are also the talk at his club, they haven't stopped people from sailing. "You just need to be careful," he said.

Meanwhile, Yeomans said, Canadian and U.S. officials are evaluating the impact of this summer's low water levels and the impact of any change on a wide range of commercial and environmental interests.

Increased summer demands on hydroelectric power generated at station, such as that of Hydro-Québec's substation on the St. Lawrence at Beauharnois, have to be taken into consideration.

Municipalities may also face increased costs for water filtration as the lower water levels have led to more turbidity and sediment in the St. Lawrence waters. Water levels in wells may be affected. Lake Ontario's commercial fishery could potentially suffer, as could wetland habitats, shorelines and endangered species.

Then, there's the dry, hot weather forecast for the summer that will not help water levels.

"We're talking headaches," said Yeomans, a Montrealer whom many would remember as the former mayor of Dorval. "The premise is no one interest should bear the brunt of the impact."

                                                  Have Fun and Remember Verdun

Dorcester Square .refurbished.

                              More than a decade after the planning process began to restore the long rundown and increasingly shabby Dorchester Square, the job has finally been completed.

With the historic, park-like square returned to its verdant former glory, the vista and the vibe are “clean and green,” beamed Dutch tourist Ron Walther, who, with his wife, Monique Walther, was among the first to soak in and enjoy the results.

They’ll be far from the last.

The public this week quickly and avidly reclaimed the reborn square, to luxuriate in an attractive city-core oasis of green grass on modest new hillocks, stately shade trees and inviting spots to sit on benches or on the ground. The latter once again provide a favoured fair-weather lunchtime-picnic sojourn for area office workers, along with other passersby including the city’s homeless.

Square users had been shut out by fencing since early last summer, as new lighting, benches, flower beds and turf were installed, along with granite walkways that will provide secure footing whether “wet or dry,” said city spokesman Philippe Sabourin. The official first shovelful of dirt to begin the aboveground part of the project was hefted July 8, 2009.

The overhaul’s full cost was $9.6 million, divided 50-50 between the city and Quebec, and Sabourin said it came in on budget.

A primary goal was “to improve the conviviality of the urban space,” according to a historic-detail-packed strategic plan completed in 2002 governing conduct of the project in tandem with the restoration of Place du Canada, on the southern side of René Lévesque Blvd. That traffic artery had long been named Dorchester before it was re-baptized to honour René Lévesque, Quebec’s first sovereignist premier, on his death.

As a consequence, the square – long ago an Anglo-Scottish bastion lined with no less than seven churches, four of them Presbyterian – officially lost its long-time “Dominion” moniker Nov. 30, 1987, with the Dorchester name recycled. (A panorama of the square is here.)

The facelift includes renewal of a variety of historic monuments of unmistakable imperial Victorian flavour, where spectacular evening lighting will be turned on “in the next couple of days,” once electrical hookups are completed, Sabourin said.

This rebirth “will bring back life in this area that was really needed,” said Robert Spiridigliozzi.

Along with Dina Spiridigliozzi, his mother, he has operated the Café Buongiorno sandwich-and-snacks spot in the park for the past 12 years, close to the Infotouriste office in the Dominion Square Building that serves as a mecca for camera-toting visitors and their tour buses.

When the Spiridigliozzis started their café – amid plenty of talk but no visible municipal action, the son said – “the square was deteriorating.” It featured ever more patchy pavement and dirt pathways worn into the grass, often giving rise to wind-borne blowing grit.

Ultimately, though, “they did a really good job,” Spiridigliozzi enthused. “Everything was delivered the way they said it would be.

“I’m happy to see it back – I’m sure it’s going to do well.”

However, he added, “I just hope they are going to take care of it.”

Sabourin, a central-city official, said regular maintenance will be handled by the Ville Marie borough within its current budget.

“It’s a great improvement and somehow not only for the gracious restoration of the lawns and pathways but truly for the dignity of this remarkable but fallen space,” said Dinu Bumbaru, policy director of Heritage Montreal.

He focussed on the “appropriately sophisticated design, good material and special care (taken) for the very special nature of the square,” which is roughly at the mid-point between the St. Lawrence River and Mount Royal Park.

The Place du Canada section to the square’s south, given that name in 1966, is the next to be tackled for a similar rebirth. Archaeological digs – similar to those that contributed to some of the length of the Dorchester Square makeover – are scheduled for next spring and summer, with landscaping to be finished for a projected reopening by the end of 2012. That work will carry a $13.4-million price tag.

The Walthers – tourists from Maastricht, the Netherlands, on a one-day Montreal stopover – already knew from their Dutch-language guidebook of the site’s old bones, its long-time former vocation as the city’s second Roman Catholic cemetery.

The footprint of the square and Place du Canada largely overlay the boundaries of the St. Antoine Cemetery, which provided not-so-final resting places for an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 Montrealers buried between 1799 and 1854. The interred include cholera victims who perished in epidemics during 1832, 1834, 1849, 1852 and 1854. Many, but not all, of the dead were relocated during the 1860s to the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery on Mount Royal.

“I don’t find this spooky at all,” grinned Monique Walther, 38, when asked about the many bones likely still resting directly beneath her. She’d been relaxing on one of the square’s 80 new benches while her camera-toting hubby grabbed dramatic frames of a rearing Boer War horse and accompanying Canadian soldier against the backdrop of the Sun Life Building.

“The attention paid to the monuments and replacement of trees is great,” said Bumbaru, who participated in the advisory committee for the overhaul and delivered “a great bravo for the city, its professional teams and those of the consortium of designers Cardinal Hardy and (landscape architect) Claude Cormier, as well as for the tradesmen – who did a great job.”

Square user Monique Walther, meanwhile, was much more focussed on the square’s colourful centrepiece of freshly planted geraniums, arrayed in red and pink around the restored war monument paying engraved homage to “the cause of imperial unity.”

“I just love the flowers,” she said.

In July, according to Sabourin, the finishing touch will be added – a series of benches arrayed in a circle around the square’s history-laden centrepiece. (A historical photo gallery of square is here.)

“It’s time,” Bumbaru said, “for Montrealers and visitors – and squirrels too – to enjoy it and keep good care of this beautiful square.”

----------Go to the park , have a siesta for an hour or so........................HF&RV

Old 'Dep' transformed into new 'Digs' =Point Saint Charles home

Graphic designer Jenny Schumacher, 47, bought a depanneur in the St Henri district of Montreal and converted it to a home.

Occupants: Jenny Schumacher, 47, plus daughters Isabelle Lindsay, 11, and Julie Lindsay, 13

Location: Charon near Wellington in Pointe St. Charles

Size: 2,400 sq. ft. (including finished basement)

Bought for: $75,000 + renovations

Been there: Since June 1998

When Jenny Schumacher, 47, bought a derelict depanneur in Pointe St. Charles for $75,000, her mom was horrified. But this graphic designer had a vision. Today, the building she once described as, "bombed-out," has become her 2,400-square-foot dream home with modern, clean lines and lots of light.

I found this place by walking by. We were already living in The Point, in our first house, and this place was right around the corner. It had been a depanneur for 80 years, though a coiffeur had moved into the downstairs, and there was an apartment upstairs. I said, this is exactly what I want -on the corner with full southern exposure, and room to build a garage. But it wasn't like this -it was a hole in the wall. It was horrible. My mother cried when she saw it. But I had this vision.

Describe the state that it was in.

It was like a bombed out apartment upstairs. It was a shell. It had this sort of nuclear pink painted brick that was all chipping off and a corner depanneur entrance. We changed everything. Everything. This was during the ice storm.

You were renovating during the ice storm? What was that like?

I wasn't doing it. The architect and the contractor were doing it. (Laughs.) They were, like, this is demolition, we don't need electricity. We hired these architects, YH2, they're pretty well known, but this is when they were just starting out, and it was their biggest project to date. They came in and said, what do you like and what do you like to do? I said, I really like to entertain, I really like Frank Lloyd Wright, I like lots of light and lots of open space. They came up with several designs and we chose the most neighbourhood-friendly design.

What do you mean by neighbourhood-friendly?

We didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb. Because it does look pretty sombre from the outside. I mean, it looks renovated, but it's not, 'ta-da, here we are.' The only thing we kept original was the original pine floor in the kids' bedrooms. Then we tried to match that same style everywhere. We didn't keep any ornamentation -there was no point.

Why match the original floors, but not the ornamentation?

Well, the original chimney is there, it's just decorative. I like a little mix of old and new, but mostly I wanted modern. And mostly it was too rotted out to keep anything.

(The main floor is open, with Schumacher's office overlooking a large kitchen, dining room, and a cozy living room surrounding a woodstove.)

Tell me about the woodstove.

This was what the architects did not want. But we wanted it because we had a wood-burning stove in our old place during the ice storm and it saved our lives. We cooked on it, heated the house, everything. Anyway, we talked them into it. It's really warm in the winter, and I have a big American Thanksgiving party every year, and we have a fire and it's the best.

Any story behind the table?

I moved from the U.S. to get married, so I was able to move stuff up here without being taxed to death. We went down to the Crate and Barrel in Boston and I fell in love with this table set, but it was ridiculously expensive. So I looked underneath and saw it was made by the Vermont Furniture Company in Burlington. I called them and said, do you have seconds? They did, so we went down to Burlington and it was one-quarter of the price. I love it.

How does your mother feel about this place now?

Now? She's all, 'Jenny, you were right, you had a vision.' She loves it!

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/From+depanneur+designer+dream+home/3205103/story.html#ixzz0s4u5lMUh

Party Time in Montreal- Jazz Fest gets underway

             Brian Setzer Orchestra opens for  Montreal Jazz Fest,...the party is on & music will fill the air for a while as Montreal's well known Summer Season is underway...

 MONTREAL - A rockabilly lifetime ago - very early '80s, to be exact-ish - Brian Setzer and two other tattooed, quiffed-up freaks from Long Island legendarily showed up in the Gazette lobby with their equipment to play a little hit-and-run promo gig.

Attendance figures are lost to the mists of time, but one thing was certain: Here was a band that believed in the intrepid showbiz will-play-anywhere credo.

Friday night, Setzer played the biggest stage possible in a city where he's got some history (he recorded a live album here).

And he made more.

Slinging a guitar edge he's maintained and honed since bursting out of a hotrod magazine in 1981, he and his massive horn-powered army, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, hit the stage at 9:30 p.m. under a martini-glass backdrop on the Place des Festivals to open the 31st Jazz Festival with the Gretsch licks of This Cat's On A Hot Tin Roof. The weather elements were kind. And he brought the Elemental.

The six-figure crowd stretched from the new stage placement at de Maisonneuve Blvd. and spilled over onto Ste. Catherine St.

"They told me one or two hundred people would be here," Setzer told the crowd. "One or two hundred thousand people!"

And in jazz fest tradition, they came from far and wide.

Tom and Karen Lewis were in from Red Deer for the Rotary Club conference where they watched Dolly Parton work her magic. Their other reason? A traditional get-together that happens every five to 10 years with lifelong friends Steve and Jasmine Ellemo from Hudson and the Finneys from Rothesay, N.B.

"We knew about the festival and knew it was a reputable event," Karen said. "We remember the Stray Cats, and when we heard Setzer was opening, we couldn't miss it. We caught a bit of Francofolies. We love the city and so do all of our colleagues from Western Canada."

"We've kept in touch with our friends," Jasmine said, "and this is the perfect place to do it."

New Brunswick's Anne Finney said: "These guys are always bragging about the festival. We've had a festival in Fredericton for 17 years and we've been trying to get them there. This is our first time at the Montreal festival, and we're really excited about seeing Brian Setzer on an outdoor stage."

Downstairs at the Maison, a New Orleans second-line band with semi-naked boa-wearing girls and dudes tossing out beads was winding up the crowd. And Setzer set them loose.

Drive Like Lightning (Crash Like Thunder) led to Setzer's gag French and the utter Americana of '49 Mercury Blues.

And we were reminded how this huge blowout had come to pass.

Last year, Setzer had relieved Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of its roof with the BSO's set. All present had the same thought: outdoor stage!

Fest vice-president André Ménard had all the reason he needed. Jump blues, jive, horn boogie, bomp and Cab Calloway dance-floor art-ertainment fits a populist Jazz fest bill.

Cue the city-junglebeat of Sexy and 17, with twisting couples on a ministage inspiring the ladies in the crowd to let rude nature take its course.

The eye-and-ear-opener for the casual fan was Setzer's virtuosity: He's a compendium of essential American fretboard moves with a razor touch and a showman's heart. The horns are there for ballast.

He took it down for Lonely Avenue, took it up for Trouble Train, and showcased a gorgeous Sleepwalk. Exit the horns for old-school trio Summertime Blues, 16 Chicks and the homage Gene and Eddie.

Funny thing about this music: Its essential element is claustrophia, a small, enclosed room where it can combust. And yet, in the end, it isn't that far from the Gazette lobby to six figures on Jeanne Mance St.

And on this mild Montreal night, as Setzer's rockabilly licks peeled out, as the trombones, trumpets and saxes rejoined him to brass away in Stray Cat Strut and Jump Jive An' Wail and Rock This Town, Setzer exulted: "What a crowd!" The Cat was having the time of his ninth life.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Brian+Setzer+Orchestra+opens+Jazz+Festival+style/3203615/story.html#ixzz0rzWcscnz

 

                                     looks like some Fun to be had by some of our Montreal members ,if they get out & have some fun ...........Cheers !!  HF&RV

The John Crawford House

                                 

I believe I posted this 1870 drawing before but I just got today this information from Jean-Marie Hachey:

It was the John Crawford house called the "Verdun House" and was built in 1850. The land was purchased in 1842 by John Crawford and the land today is called Crawford Park. He also purchased in on the 29th of December the maison Saint-Dizier also called the "Old Stone House". His son, John Molson Crawford was the 3rd mayor of Verdun from 1884 to 1892.

The private road leading to the "Verdun House" is roughly Crawford street wich leads to the house wich was roughly at the intersection of Crawford and Churchill.

The drawing shows the lifestyle of the upper class Montreal society in the middle of the 19th century. Since the Verdun House and the Old Stone house where close to each-other, the two must have shared their activities. 

Guy

The article appears on the Messager site at http://www.messagerverdun.com/ section SOCIÉTÉ - HISTOIRE VERDUN

Check out my own articles while you are there.

J.M. has also discovered the enclosed map of the "Verdun House" wich is a major find for our archives (SHGV)

 

GOOD THING WE SPENT A BILLION ON SECURITY

(seriously folks ,we spent a Billion Dollars & we came up with this Car ------and the forces that be consider it a 'Suspicious Car'  lol                Well checkout this headline:   I just can't help but think that if We had spent $2,Billion, we may have found some penknifes too............WHEW.!!!!   We probably just avoided some Hi Profile diplomats from being assasinated while swimming in our artificial lake (inside a secure building).............and this stuff makes the news Folks......

"Man arrested near G-20 Summitt with 'crossbow & axe'.........Yea like you can use those two things at the same time...........hahahhahahaha  

  This meeting of the world leading Idiots in Power, on How to use money sensibly ,could have been held in MIRABEL AIRPORT ,Noone Goes there...........hahahaha  & If you see a plane coming in shoot it down......cost to taxpayers ,.maybe $6, bucks ,depending on what kind of ammo you need.

TORONTO — Police say they have arrested a 53-year-old man with an arsenal of weapons and hazardous materials, including a chainsaw, a crossbow and gasoline, in his car Thursday near the G20 security zone.

A uniformed officer on a bicycle pulled over the silver Hyundai after the officer noticed a handmade aluminum cargo carrier strapped to the top of the car, police report.

"Weapons were seen in the vehicle and the driver was arrested for possessing those weapons," said Sgt. Tim Burrows of the Integrated Security Unit.

Police say the officer first noticed three red gas containers, which were later removed and sat near the car while the hazardous materials team was called in to investigate the contents. "The officer observed the containers in the vehicle, as well as various other items including a chainsaw and a crossbow," said Sgt. Rob MacDonald.

After the officer first noted the containers, police retrieved the bow, at least three accompanying arrows, an orange chainsaw, an aluminum baseball bat, an axe, a sledgehammer and a canister of gasoline, police report. The items were laid out on the sidewalk for several hours at the scene, which was cordoned off by police tape.

Some of the containers were found to hold gasoline, police said.

The driver was arrested at about 12:30 p.m. and taken to the temporary holding facility, set up for the G20, where he was still being investigated Thursday. He reportedly seemed disoriented upon his arrest.

Nearly 30 police officers milled about monitoring the scene and redirecting curious passersby. MacDonald said that, during the arrest, the officers set up a perimeter using their bicycles but removed them once they found the area to be secure.

The car had Ontario licence plates, and officers were concerned that it was not fit to drive. The back bumper was held on by green bungee cords tied together, and the storage container was perched precariously atop the vehicle with yellow foam sticking out from underneath it.

At about 3:30 p.m., a tow truck arrived and towed away the car.

Police wouldn't comment on whether the man was associated with a particular group, or speculate on what he planned to do with the weaponry.

"He was alone in the car," said MacDonald, who added nothing was found in the overhead storage compartment but a cooler.

Police have not yet laid charges, but confirmed they believe the arrest to be related to the G20.

Earlier Thursday, G20 police arrested and charged a Toronto woman as part of an ongoing investigation that involved the execution of a search warrant earlier this week in Toronto.

Visual artist Kristen Peterson, 37, was charged Thursday with possession of an explosive device and possession of weapon for a dangerous purpose after Toronto police executed additional search warrants Wednesday in the townships of Tiny and Lake of Bays, Ont.

Peterson's common-law spouse, Byron Sonne, also 37, was charged Wednesday with six offences: possession of explosive for an unlawful purpose, intimidation of a justice system participant by threat, intimidation of a justice system participant by watch and beset, mischief, attempted mischief and possession of dangerous weapons.

"It's my understanding there is evidence that suggests the charges are in relation to the G20, but because it's an ongoing investigation, I can't get into details," said Integrated Security Unit spokeswoman Jillian Van Acker of the charges against the couple. "However, we've been informed that there is no risk to public safety at this time."

A profile on the social networking site LinkedIn lists Sonne as the owner of Certified Information Systems Security Professional and a licensed private investigator.

He has experience in the IT field and belongs to a number of groups, including the Toronto Area Security Klatch (TASK) and Hacklab.to, which describes itself as "Toronto's hacker collective."

Robert Beggs, an information security expert, said he met Sonne during several presentations Sonne had made to TASK about how computer networks communicate back and forth.

"His job in at least two companies was to find the holes in computer products and identify why the holes are there and how to fix it so that it can't be exploited by someone with malicious intent," Beggs, a member of the TASK steering committee, said.

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/arrested+near+Summit+with+crossbow+police/3195089/story.html#ixzz0roooWZbg

         ..For that matter , Why not hold these 'summits' on an OIl RIG in the GULF of Mexico...Noone will even DARE go near there...................YIKES !! Old Stephen Harper thinks he's a worldwide statesman, now. What an a$$hole.with his Harper Lake nonsense, We could have flown all the world leaders over any of the THOUSANDS of Lakes in Ontario (let alone Canada) & for that matter have their planes crash 'purposely' into any Lake & when they see the Great Big Yellow Search & Rescue Helicopters that are there in notime to save them,....They would be far more impressed than that wading pool we built for them............Will the stupidity ever cease........(Nope).....   -HF&RV--

Saint John the Baptiste Day--or the Start of Summer for the kids:

June 24th Saint John the Baptist Day, this was usually the first day of being out of school, We used to finish on June 23rd,got our report cards, & headed for summer. I don't remember big celebrations for this day ,otherthan the times when the separatist movement tried to hijack this celebration into their own National Holiday.

   However this is listed as one of the events being held in Verdun for everyone.

Verdun: June 24, 2 to 9 p.m.: Family entertainment including face painting and inflatables, starting at 2 p.m.; cake served at 6 p.m., on the waterfront park at the corner of 6th Ave.

......Here are a few other spots celebrating the day for kids & families on the Island of Montreal:

You may have heard about a Quebec holiday called St. Jean Baptiste Day … and might be wondering how family friendly the festivities will be. So, here’s a list of what’s going on in 24 areas, highlighting the family-targeted programming at each celebration.

Some celebrations take place on June 23, some on June 24, some on both days. Also, in many areas festivities continue through the evening, often with fireworks at around 10 p.m. Remember to bring your own chairs. Bonne Fête St. Jean!

Beaconsfield: June 24, noon to 5 p.m. at Centennial Park, 288 Beaconsfield Blvd. (In case of rain at Beaconsfield Recreation Centre, 174 City Lane). Petting farm, bread making, quill pen writing, adventure obstacle course, Chief Topleaf, crafts and the Ecomuseum kiosk.  Puppet show “The Forkman Cabaret” by Panadream Theatre, will be on at 2 p.m. in French and 3:30 p.m. in English. Clown show on main stage at 2:50 p.m. Also horse-drawn wagon rides; traditional arts and crafts; art exhibition and sale; mini sailboat regatta. Call 514-428-4480 or go to http://www.beaconsfield100.ca/events/en/

Boucherville: June 23 at 8 p.m. Show and animation at Place de l’eglise saint-famille.
June 24, 1 p.m. shows, animation, inflatables, Festizoo and more at Parc de la rivière aux pins. Call 450-449-8640.

Châteauguay: June 24, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.: Festivities start at 10:30 a.m., but family entertainment starts at 11:30 a.m. with games, art workshops, a collective mural, face-painting, 2 p.m.: Quebec history told through stories and songs; 5:15 p.m. picnic dinner, at Maison LePailleur. More information.

Dollard des Ormeaux: June 24, 7 to 10 p.m. Face-painting and animation for kids, concert and fireworks at Dollard des Ormeaux Park. Call 514-684-1012, ext. 632.

Dorval: June 24, 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Millennium Park. Games and animation for families, barbecue, fireworks at 10 p.m. Continuous shuttle between the park and SACC. Rain date, June 25. Consult the full program.

Ile Bizard: June 23, 6 to 10 p.m., Eugene Dostie Park, Ile Bizard. Inflatables, face painting, entertainers and fireworks at 10 p.m.

Montreal West: June 23 at 6 p.m. at Davies Park. Traditional music, folklore dance, barbecue, inflatable games and bonfire.

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve: June 24, 1 p.m.: Giants parade (giant representations of Quebec historical figures) leaves from Fullum and Sherbrooke, ends at Pie IX. At 5:30 p.m. the main Montreal Fête Nationale bash is at Maisonneuve Park, with many musical performances. More information.

Rosemont-La Petite Patrie: June 23, 2 to 6 p.m. Family festivities including entertainers, face-painting, inflatables, circus entertainers and street performers at Molson Park, corner Iberville and Beaubien Sts. After 6 p.m., concerts and other entertainment follow. More information.

Lachine: June 24, 7 p.m. to midnight: Musical shows by performers including Mara Tremblay Bernard Adamus and Fred Fortin outside the old brewery, 2801 St. Joseph Blvd. Also, from June 24 to 26, the Theatre de la Rue festival will be held from 7 p.m. onward. It includes theatre, dance and musical performances at 2901 St. Joseph Blvd. For more information, go to Festival Théâtre de Rue de Lachine.

LaSalle: June 24, 4 p.m. Coleur Soleil, a children’s music and dance show will be performed, followed by dinner, traditional music and other performances at Aqueduct Park, corner of LaSalle Blvd. and 75th Ave., Lasalle. More information.

Laval: June 23, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. inflatables, picnic area, musical shows and games and fireworks at Champfleury Park, Laval. More information.
June 24, 8 a.m. to midnight, activities and shows at Parc du Moulin, 1125 Montée du Moulin (St. François), Laval. Call 450-662-8422.

Longueuil: June 24, 11 to 5 p.m.: Animation by Parc-o-Mètre, inflatables, pedal karts, circus workshops and water games at St. Marc Park, Longueuil. Call 450-463-7181.

Montreal East: June 23: 12:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Games, races, face-painting, balloon sculptors and inflatables, magic show at 3 p.m., picnic dinner at 5 p.m. at René Labrosse Park. More information.

Montreal North: June 24, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Games, contents, giant mosaic, bicycle engraving, inflatables, animation; 3 p.m.: circus workshop; 5 p.m. picnic dinner at Aimé Léonard Park. More information.

Outremont: June 24, noon to 5 p.m.: Family activities all afternoon, including music, face-painting, a collective mural, water games, animation ambulantes, barbecue and a children’s show at 2 p.m., at St. Viateur Park, on Bloomfield between Bernard and St. Viateur Sts.

Pointe Claire: June 24, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; family activities start at 1 p.m., including games, contests, sports, inflatables, arts and crafts and a climbing wall; swimming at 1:30 p.m., magic/clown show at 2:30 p.m.; traditional music, dinner at 5:30 p.m., fireworks at 10 p.m., at Alexandre Bourgeau Park. More information.

Rigaud: June 24, 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.: Family activities start at 11 a.m., including sand-sculpture workshops, games, inflatables, animation and various musical performances at Chartier de Lotbinière Park and Desjardins Park. More information.

Ste. Anne de Bellevue: June 24, noon to 6 p.m.: Family activities include face-painting and game booths; at 2 p.m. a family show by Circus Cowboys, at 3 p.m. St. Jean cake is served, at 4 p.m. traditional dance exhibition, at 10:45 p.m. fireworks. Events will be held on the Ste. Anne de Bellevue boardwalk.

St. Hubert: June 24, 3 to 7 p.m.: family activities including inflatables, entertainers, a mini train and shows. At 6:45 p.m., official opening of festivities, including concerts and fireworks at 10 p.m., at Parc de la Cité, 6201 Davis Blvd. More information.

St. Lazare: June 23, 7 to 11 p.m.: Concerts and fireworks at Bédard Park. June 24: 10 a.m. to noon: family entertainment, including a classic car show, parade (including horses) at 11 a.m. on Ste. Angélique Rd., barbecue and corn roast. More information.

St. Léonard: June 24: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Games, contests, clowns, arts and crafts, face-painting, inflatables, food, etc., at Delorme Park. More information.

Westmount: June 24, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Bring a picnic or buy food/drink at Westmount Park; there will be a performance by the band Genticorum, and a bonfire at 9 p.m. In case of rain, activities will be held at Westmount Arena. More information.

Vaudreuil-Dorion: June 23, 6 to 10:30 p.m.: Concerts and fireworks at Cité des jeunes Park. More information.

Verdun: June 24, 2 to 9 p.m.: Family entertainment including face painting and inflatables, starting at 2 p.m.; cake served at 6 p.m., on the waterfront park at the corner of 6th Ave

 

                              ----------------------------HF&RV------------------

Hey , whatdya know, Ronny Reagan appointee on the Supreme Court Come through for the old nutbar regime

           I guess the old dinosaur republicans just flexed their appointee muscles, Imagine having the 'BIGGEST POSSIBLE WORLD ALTERING ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER" just off your coast ,with OIL RIGS flying flags from countries all over the world , & not subject to your laws , because the Big Oil are Powerful enough to tell your Prez to basically go screw himself...........Well that's what just happened. Which just goes to show .Business runs the planet & not the puppets ,you think are in power,.the Bush family goes way back in history ,.way back,...& it looks like their masters have collectively won out over the present day Prez, who it seems does not have any power. It sure gives more validity to the rumours that little George W was doing "what he was told" by big business, that big business also had it's puppeteer Dick Cheney still pulling strings........and so Freedom you see is an illusion,They can pollute your waters & ruin your lives, and the Apathetic Group that is the Voters ( or should I say ,lack of Voters) will just shut up and watch as the real powers that be, tell us all ,'How it's going to Be'

          

NEW ORLEANS/WASHINGTON - A U.S. judge on Tuesday blocked the Obama administration's ban on deepwater drilling, complicating its efforts to improve the safety of offshore oil operations after the worst spill in U.S. history.

The White House said it would immediately appeal the judge's ruling, issued in New Orleans. Oil companies involved in offshore drilling operations had challenged the government's six-month moratorium.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that most Americans still support offshore drilling, despite watching a huge slick from BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico oil spill devastate fragile wetlands and communities along the U.S. Gulf coast.

The possible scale of the ecological catastrophe was underscored when U.S. scientists said as much as one million times the normal level of methane gas has been found in some regions near the spill, enough to deplete oxygen and create a dead zone.

If such dead zones were linked to the spill they could ultimately add to BP's mounting costs.

The 64-day-old disaster has shattered investor confidence in BP, which has seen its stock price slashed in half since the start of the crisis. The British energy giant's London share price tumbled to its lowest level in 13 years on Tuesday.

After the BP well ruptured on April 20, spewing millions of gallons of crude, President Barack Obama imposed the ban on deepsea drilling while officials checked that other wells were operating safely.

In granting a request by more than a dozen oil services companies for the ban to be overturned, Judge Martin Feldman challenged its "immense scope."

The Interior Department, which oversees offshore drilling, said despite the ruling, the firms still had to meet new safety and environmental rules before they could resume operations.

Expanding offshore drilling was among Obama's proposals to revamp U.S. energy policy. He hoped it would generate support from Republicans for more controversial aspects of his plans to fight climate change.

But he shelved that plan after the spill and White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama believed that "continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense." The administration will probably ask for a stay of the court ruling as it pursues its appeal.

The court's decision was a victory for offshore energy producers like BP, Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell. They have been hamstrung by the ban, and are considering relocating their giant rigs to other basins like Brazil.

Shares in oil drilling companies briefly spiked after the ruling but dipped again when the Obama administration said it would appeal. The S&P energy sector fell 1.3 per cent.

BP's London-listed shares hit their lowest level since February 1997 on Tuesday, dropping more than 5 per cent before coming off lows. U.S.-listed shares closed down 2.14 per cent at $29.68. They have not traded around these levels since 1996.

In London, BP's shares have fallen 32 per cent in June alone and are on track to suffer their worst month since at least 1965, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.

GREEN GROUPS FURIOUS

The court ruling infuriated U.S. environmental groups. The Sierra Club said it would join the Obama administration in appealing it and called the ruling "a slap in the face to the communities that have been hit hard by this tragedy."

The spill has dealt a severe blow to the U.S. Gulf Coast's tourism and fishing industries and soiled large parts of a 650 km coastline from Louisiana to Florida.

But the ruling was welcomed by Gulf Coast residents whose livelihoods depend on the oil industry.

"It takes away the uncertainty. It's going to get some people back to work immediately," said Tony Frickey, site supervisor at the Venice Port Complex in Venice, Louisiana.

BP said it had captured 25,830 barrels (4,106,641 litres) of oil from the ruptured well on Monday, the highest amount yet. Between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day are gushing from the well, according to U.S. government estimates.

Despite the spill, 56 per cent of Americans believe offshore drilling is necessary for the United States to produce its own energy and not rely on other countries, while 38 per cent believe it is a bad idea, according to the Reuters poll.

The poll also found about three-quarters of Americans believe neither BP nor the government responded quickly enough to the disaster.

The Obama administration has walked a tightrope in responding to public outrage over the spill and defending its own handling of the crisis against criticism that the relief effort has been too slow and ineffective.

Much of this criticism has come from local governments on the front line.

Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish in southern Louisiana, said the Interior Department had ordered a halt to dredging operations aimed at creating a sand berm as a barrier to the spreading crude.

"We are being required to move our dredging site 3.2 kms farther off our barrier coast, causing us to lose precious time in our fight," he wrote in a letter to Obama.

© Copyright (c) Reuters

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/court+overturns+Obama+drilling/3185340/story.html#ixzz0rdbS8atS

           ......................................ps: Is the Yacht Race Over Yet ?.......hahahahha Now if this Prez does or ever did have any power then he should blatantly over rule the court , the same way his predeccesor Used it.......................     -HF&RV-

                            ..Btw: Do as Your Told.................and pay your tax's please..........lol

The Verdun Historical and Genealogical Society (VHGS - SHGV)

When I am on duty at the SHGV (VHGS - SHGV), I always look for articles or photos that may interest VC members. I came upon this leaflet yesterday entitled OUR YESTERYEARS wich describres the implication of the society in promoting the history of Verdun. I previously posted this article on the old VC site but I thought I would post it again. Most of the old photos and articles that I post are from our archives. As is mentioned in the article, the society was founded in 1994 and the Verdunite, author and professor Serge Durflinger was one of the founding members and was probably the translator of this article. Many of the information he got when writing his book on Verdun were from our archives including the Guardian wich is a gold mine of information on Verdun.

CLICK ON ARTICLE TO ENLARGE

Guy

Happy Father's Day,Appreciate the ones that are here,& Remember the ones who have passed.

Father's Day,..........enjoy your day and have fun ,appreciate your family & friends,cause they can be gone in an instant. Here's a story from today's Gazette.

I love thunderstorms and blizzards. They remind me of my dad. They're emblematic of what he taught me: Master your fear. Never let it shackle you. Face it, deal with it and move on. He's been gone more than 10 years now, but his influence continues.

My dad, Tony Malazdrewicz, worked on the railway for nearly four decades. He was a station agent and train order operator, working the small towns that dotted branch lines leading to and from Winnipeg. Most towns had a train station, a plain, functional building that housed a business office and passenger waiting room. There were ice houses and coal bins, freight sheds and living quarters. Those modest living quarters were home to my family as we grew up in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The train station was the centre point of the town. The passenger train would grind to a stop each day. People would come and go. Farm supplies would be unloaded from boxcars and piled high in the freight shed, alongside shipments of bottled beer destined for the local hotel. The grocery and hardware store owners would come by to pick up new stock for the approaching season. Tractors, combines and hay balers would be unloaded from flatcars, onto the weed-covered dirt and gravel ramp on the other side of the tracks, near the grain elevator.

When something important happened, Dad would send and receive telegrams, linking our small community to the rest of the world, using the mysterious dots and dashes of Morse code.

Everyone in town knew where the station was, and everyone knew and liked my dad. He was an old-school gentleman, a diplomat. He understood the value of respect. He didn't give it lightly, but once you earned it, you won his loyalty and trust. He was not without his flaws, but his honesty, unshakable family values and rock-solid work ethic defined who he was. He also had a pragmatic, stoic outlook. He believed that, in this world, there are things you can change, and things you can't. If you can change something, you must. If you can't, you deal with it.

One summer, when I was about 5 years old, a new family dog appeared - Cindy, a beautiful golden cocker spaniel. She came from a farm somewhere in Saskatchewan and arrived, of course, in the baggage car of the passenger train.

The first order of business was to build a doghouse. Early one evening, Dad slid open the big freight shed door, gathered together his tools and some scrap lumber, and the two of us set about the task.

While we were measuring, sawing and hammering, the sky outside began to darken ominously as a massive prairie thunderstorm brewed overhead. Rain began to fall, first dancing off the weathered wooden platform between the station and the tracks, then changing to hail and hammering down mercilessly. Thunder exploded, one howitzer-voiced blast after another. Lightning electrified the twilight, creating blasts of surreal, blue, high-noon brilliance.

I was terrified. We put down our tools and, together, stood in the open doorway, watching the storm unleash its fury. Dad put his hand on my shoulder and talked soothingly, admiringly even, about how much he loved the power and beauty of thunderstorms. I felt my fear dissolve. I felt safe.

Over the years, our family moved often as Dad's work assignments changed. A new town meant a different house, a strange school and the necessity of making new friends. To a kid, this is a scary prospect, but Dad was always there to help me adapt to the new reality.

One winter, in one of these towns, a massive, howling blizzard was paralyzing the countryside. Visibility was near zero. Yet there was Dad, grinning, getting dressed to go outside. He suggested we go for a walk. I agreed with some trepidation, and he bundled me up against the elements.

We walked out into that blizzard, down the main street of our town, past the barbershop, the pool room and the abandoned restaurant. I think we only went as far as the post office and back, a few blocks at most, but for all I knew, we could have walked to the far side of the moon.

Outside, it was amazingly quiet. The swirling snow absorbed every sound except that of our footsteps, softly crunching through snow drifts. I couldn't see much. The world had disappeared into a disorienting whiteout, but I wasn't afraid. Dad was there.

He was always there, through the fun stuff, through the tough stuff and, most importantly, through all the scary stuff. I may not have realized it at the time, but I know it now: He was always watching my back, and he still is.

Dad believed that, in any situation, if you look carefully at what you're facing, then prepare and move forward with respect and confidence, you'll be fine. Purposeful action has honour and dignity. Inaction leads nowhere. The key to it all is mastering your fear. This is his greatest enduring legacy, one I was determined to pass on when it became my turn to be a father.

So, yes, I love thunderstorms and blizzards because they remind me of my dad. My two daughters love thunderstorms and blizzards too. Dad would be proud.

Chris Malazdrewicz is a filmmaker living and working in Montreal.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/helped+weather+storms/3178724/story.html#ixzz0rPjv0QEU

 

         ........................Have Fun Everyone,& enjoy your Fathers Day.................hf&rv--