2012 RUREADY

 

 

 

 

 

...........All the best to all of you.for the upcoming year 2012 ,make it the best year yet.

             .............Have Fun and Remember Verdun.....................Cheers !         

                                    Make 2012 a Special Year for you all, and Best Wishes from

                                                                "Verdun   Connections "                                        

Merry Christmas From Verdun Connections to All.

                          It's time to get ready for  Christmas Day ,I hope you all enjoy a great time with your family & friends.  Stay safe ,eat well, & Have a Very Merry Christmas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers ! & Merry Christmas on behalf of MaggieMck & All of Verdun Connections & Myself

              ...........................Have Fun & Remember Verdun.........................................................

Scam or just Spam

There seems to be a nuisance spam happening in Hotmail or Windows Live accounts,there is no danger as Virus checkers don't seem to be worried,but it is a pain when someone gets an email that they think is from you & it isn't.

      The one I see most readily today starts in the subject line "Hey" and then you see it's from someone you know ,you open it & it simply says "Click here to Open ....blah blah blah

 It is an ad for an IPOD of course it's FREE ( one of our favourite 4 letter words) but keep in mind it's like a Free Lunch...There is no such thing.

 There are plenty of agency's to report scams or spams, & the first would be report it to your hotmail provider first. They can deal with it. Then the more serious the scam or annoying the spams can be reported to federal agency's on both sides of the 49th.....

    It's always good to be aware of things,as complaceny is easy to fall into.& relying on your equipment can sometimes be augmented by just deleteing (as I'm sure you already do ) any emails from sources you rarely get if ever email from.

            

How to Report a Fraud or Scam

If you have observed a scam or been the victim of a scam, spam or fraud and want to report it for enforcement, here is a list of where to report different types of scams in the US, UK, Canada and many other countries. In some cases there is more than one agency to contact.  Some scams fit into more than one category, also.

 read more here ,if you need to:    http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/reporting.php

         Cheers ! HF&RV                - Les

                     

First Gasoline Driven Auto in the World

 

The Benz Motorwagen is the first gasoline driven auto built in 1886 in Germany. I have added this photo to my album no. 33 where you will find other interesting antique autos. You will also find the first steam engine auto built in Canada, bult by Henry Seth Taylor in Stanstead Qc in 1867. There is also the first steam auto built in the world by Nicolas Joseph Cugnot, a french military engineer, between 1669 and 1771 which still exhists today in the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. You will also find the first auto to be licensed in Quebec in Montreal by Ucal Henry Dandurand (Album no. 45) who also was owner of the Queen's Park velodrome in Verdun (Album no. 31) wich hosted the "World's Meet 1899" International bicycle races. Dandurand had a summer house on LaSalle boulevard and commuted between Montreal and Verdun.

I think autos interests everyone and I try to limit myself as the subtect is limitless.

Guy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Merry Christmas" it is then. "Merry Christmas"

                                                                                                                                              By Thandi Fletcher

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or Happy Holidays?

Myriad dizzying greetings from which to wish friends a festive holiday season is enough to steer some to take a healthy swig of eggnog.

Most Canadians are firmly in the Merry Christmas camp, according to results of the latest Ipsos Reid poll conducted for Postmedia News and Global Television.

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Of those polled, a strong majority of Canadians, some 73%, defend using the more traditional greeting, saying it is the “original meaning and purpose of the holiday” in this country.

Canadians appear to be adamant about their more traditional tastes, with their attitude similar to findings when the question was asked last year.

“I think what we’re seeing here is an interesting renaissance where Canadians, many of them, don’t feel that they are being offensive to someone if they call it the Christmas Season,” explained Ipsos Reid pollster John Wright. “Because the majority of people in this country are Christian, the majority of people in this country believe that it is Christmas.”

Meanwhile, 25% of Canadians say they prefer the more inclusive “holiday season” in describing year-end festivities, in order to be more sensitive toward others’ religions and cultures.

Middle-aged and older Canadians — 73% of 35- to 54-year-olds, and 80% of those aged 55 and older — are more likely to have a preference for the traditional “Christmas Season” term, which Wright said is not surprising.

But younger Canadians also favour calling it the Christmas Season, and significantly more so than last year.

Sixty-six per cent of those polled between the ages of 18 and 34 prefer the phrase Christmas Season, up 10 points from last year.

“Again, I think there’s a bit of a renaissance here,” said Wright. “Who knows what’s happening, except to say that young people are carving out a niche of their own.”

However, younger Canadians also are more likely than older Canadians to prefer the more multicultural moniker of “holiday season.”

Thirty-four per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds prefer the term holiday season, while only 27% of middle-aged and 20% of older Canadians agree, the survey found.

Across the provinces, residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, at 80 per cent, are most likely to favour the term Christmas.

British Columbians come in at a close second with 78 per cent, followed by 77 per cent of Albertans and Ontarians, and 74 per cent of those living in the Atlantic provinces.

Quebecers, however, are less likely to prefer the term Christmas Season and are more likely to favour using holiday season.

Sixty-one per cent of Quebec residents prefer Christmas, while 39 per cent side with holiday season.

On what the holiday season means to them, a slim majority of 56 per cent of Canadians thinks Christmas is a time for family, down three points from last year.

For many Canadians, Wright said, Christmas is akin to American Thanksgiving, a time when people go home to reconnect with their family.

“It’s not about religion,” said Wright. “The No. 1 reason is really about family.”

Fourteen per cent think Christmas is a time for exchanging gifts this season, up from last year’s nine per cent.

Nineteen per cent think Christmas is a time to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ, while 12 per cent see the holiday as just “a nice festive season in the middle of the winter.”

Women are more likely to see Christmas as a time for family, with 59 per cent, compared with 52 per cent of men.

Men, at 15 per cent, are twice as likely as women, at eight per cent, to see Christmas as a nice holiday in the middle of dreary winter.

Thirty-five per cent of Atlantic Canadians see Christmas as a time to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ. The rest of Canada isn’t far behind, but just six per cent of Quebecers agreed, which Wright said could have to do with Montreal’s multicultural population.

Willibrord Park

Despite the fact that there is no snow but cold in Montreal/Verdun, the Willibrord park is in full operation thanks to the artificial rink, courtesy of the Montreal Canadien Hockey club (Molsons). We didn't have such luxuries in our time and we relied on mother nature and had a grand time anyway.

Guy

.Source: Messager de Verdun (Pierre Lussier)

 

Billy Monro, Composer, Pianist and Musical Director (1894-1969)

I found this biography of Billy Monro on the Library and Archives Canada site, in The Virtual Gramophone section (biographies). Some old timers like myself will remember this colorful musician who had a profound impact on Verdun in the 40s and 50s.

Guy

 

Biographies

Billy Munro, composer, pianist, and musical director (1894-1969)

Source
Billy Munro, circa 1923

Billy Munro was born in Grenada, in the West Indies, in March of 1894. As a youth, he lived with an uncle in London and studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music and University College School. He immigrated to the United States around 1910 and worked as a silent-movie pianist in a number of American cities before settling in Montréal in 1913. While he continued to play the piano in silent-movie theatres, Munro also performed at the Jardin de Danse in 1917. He lived in New York from 1918 to 1920, where he played in the celebrated Ted Lewis Orchestra. He composed several songs with this group, including "When My Baby Smiles at Me," written for the review Greenwich Village Follies of 1919. This song became a smash hit throughout North America and was featured in the films Hold That Ghost (1941) and Behind the Eight Ball (1942).

Billy Munro returned to Montréal in 1920 and joined the Melody Kings. The ensemble recorded a number of musical selections in 1923, for Herbert Berliner's Apex label. These recordings included Munro's own compositions "I'll Be Here When You Get Back" and "Music Makes the World Go Round." From 1925 to 1929, Munro played with the Melody Kings at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montréal. He later formed his own dance orchestra and inaugurated the cabaret Le Frolic (renamed the Faisan doré 15 years later). His orchestra held extended billings at various cabarets, including Chez Maurice, the Lido and the Gatineau Country Club. Billy Munro turned to freelancing in 1941. He hosted his own radio program on CKAC in 1944 and became the music director at CKVL, a new radio station that began broadcasting from Verdun in 1946. His program, "Les découvertes de Billy Munro," was one of the most popular on French-language radio for a dozen years. From 1947 to 1950, he held the post of music director for the program "Le fantôme au clavier" (CKVL), hosted by Jacques Normand. The artistic collaboration between the two men continued for 15 years, first at the Faisan doré (1948-1950) and then through most of Jacques Normand's cabaret shows, until the mid-1960s.

Billy Munro passed away in Montréal on October 16, 1969.

Unfortunately, the pianist made few solo recordings. Munro's Jardin de Danse Orchestra recorded "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes" in 1922 (HMV 216357). As well, a recording of "When My Baby Smiles at Me" and "My Blue Heaven" (CH-505) was put out by the Quebec label Alouette in 1952.

For more information on Billy Munro's recordings, please consult the Virtual Gramophone database.

Robert Thérien, music researcher, Montréal

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Natatorium by Rohinton Ghandhi

With Rohinton Ghandhi's permission, here is Ro's poetic version of the inauguration of the Natatorium. You will note that it is Buster Crabb and not Johnny Weismueller who was at the inauguration which was previously mentioned by a member. According to Ro, Buster also was an olympic swimmer and an Hollywood actor who played Tarzan, the same as Johnny.

Guy

    The Verdun Natatorium – Our Tarzan Connections Make a Splash From the Past 

    December 7th, 2011 

    SouthWest Corner - R. Ghandhi

 

 

    It was a dark, wet Wednesday afternoon on March 2nd, 1938, as reporters stood silently in the drizzling rain at the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery, keeping their flashbulbs dry under their overcoats. At any minute, Hollywood stars, including Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland, and Bing Crosby, were about to arrive to pay their last respects to “the actor with a face of a monkey and the heart of a gentleman”. Born in ’29, the year of the crash, in the Belgian Congo, he had died of pneumonia at the age of nine, only days before. The news was out, “Jiggs” was dead. At times, he had earned as much as $110 a day, and like a true gentleman, he kissed the hand of every actress he met. As a trained movie chimpanzee, “Jiggs” had headlined with many of greatest stars of the 1930’s, including Buster Crabbe in the 12-part series “Tarzan the Fearless”, which had a great weekly run in 1933 here at Verdun’s Park Theater. Just like the reporters at the gravesite, we were unaware that Jiggs would continue leading us into deeper jungles. As we swung through the vines and cleared a pathway within our own local canopy, our lost Tarzan connections slowly bubbled to the surface, at the deep-end of the Verdun Natatorium.

 

    As Jiggs was being lowered, on the opposite corner of the continent, Verdun engineers Henry Hadley and chief designer H.C. Sturgess were preparing to build the greatest outdoor public pool in the country. In 1938-39, Verdun was still in the midst of the Great Depression, with a large number of its residents hired as city “relief” workers for various municipal projects. The Natatorium idea would provide another opportunity for work and would showcase the ingenuity of our city planners. Some of whom are still named on a plaque at the pool’s entrance. Yet not all names would be remembered.

 

    On June 14th, 1940, a month before opening, Verdun’s city council reversed its decision to award Mr. Minicucci, of Italian descent, the right to lease the restaurant atop the new Natatorium. Stating that, “the entry of Italy into the war on the side of the Nazis caused the change”. On June 28th, 1940, without any further reasoning, the council awarded the space to Mr. W. Gunhouse under the same terms. In these times, the actions of a foreign country to ally with the Nazis gave us the name “Gunny’s” for the rooftop restaurant, after its new owner. While the Minicucci name sadly became an indirect casualty of war.

 

    It was opening night, Friday, July 12th, 1940, 7:00pm, as crowds of people excitedly rushed across Bannantyne Avenue and LaSalle Boulevard eager to see the Natatorium open its doors for the first time. With lights shining on its double castle-like front turrets and union-jacks waving above them, the building took on an amusement park feel, like at the gates of Belmont Park. More than 2,000 spectators paid the 50-cent admission (25-cents for children) and filled the pool area, gathering tightly on the roof. The scene was almost surreal against the night sky, as the smell of fresh paint still lingered in the air. The two pools were illuminated by 22 underwater “submarine” lights, allowing a clear view of their bottom floors. The lamp posts overhead and atop the pool-house lit up the deck areas, which surrounded each pool with 30 feet of non-skid concrete laid in contrasting shades. The two “island fountains” of the larger pool had coloured lights below them and jetted water into the air through their extended spouts, as the deeper pool looked more official with its 5 Olympic-regulation sized diving boards. The brick posts of our 3-mile boardwalk dotted the riverfront, as a reminder of where we all had swam before. These early moments would not last, as the Verdun Natatorium was about to be launched into history, as host of the 1940 Dominion Swimming and Diving Championships!

 

    At 8 o’clock, the MP for Verdun, Mr. Leo-J Comeau, officially inaugurated the new Verdun Natatorium and opened the championship, earning wild applause from the crowds. Within the fanfare, our Mayor, Edward Wilson, Chief Engineer, Henry Hadley, and many of our city councillors stood alongside, proudly smiling at their achievement. They had not only put Verdun on the local stage, but by inviting swimmers from the “Atlantic to the Pacific”, they had put our town in the spotlight across the Dominion of Canada. The competitions were planned that way, with events held exclusively for Verdun residents amidst the national trials. For those few days, news of the winners headlined across the country, with the Natatorium front and center, quickly gaining its reputation as “the finest pool in Canada”.

 

    Our city councillors ensured that the Natatorium would keep us financially safe as well. By first floating a loan for $200,000, they decided to keep admission prices as low as possible, just enough to cover operating costs and to keep paying back the loan. As annual attendance grew, the pool paid back $9,500 each year from 1941 to 1945, about $11,000 each year from 1946 to 1951, and was on target to return a profit by 1961. Planned within the hardest of economic times, the Natatorium never lost money. To this day, it remains a true example of responsible public-spending.

 

    Before the Natatorium, many Verdun residents fell ill from swimming in the increasingly contaminated St.Lawrence waters. The new pool was clearly designed with public safety in mind. Its three large automatically-controlled pressure filters could produce 1,250 chlorinated gallons per minute, when required. The main building housed a first-aid room, a “tote-box” room for your belongings, and the men’s and women’s dressing rooms each with 16 hot-water showers.  A shower and a foot bath were mandatory before entering the pool. “Gunny’s” restaurant would provide a hot snack-bar menu to hungry swimmers on the ground floor and on the roof. Verdun policeman were stationed at the pool as lifeguards, security guards, and as swimming instructors to the public. With numerous ladders within the pools and elevated lifeguard chairs around them, the Natatorium gave us a safer way to cool off in the humid days, before central air.  

 

    A year later, in early June 1941, people were turned away from their morning swim and curiously began gathering at the pool’s outer fence, as patrolmen walked the interior. All went silent, as a lone silhouette exited the men’s dressing room and headed for the diving pool. The well-muscled man dropped his towel, climbed the steps, and walked into the sunlight at the tip of the 3m high board. Onlookers burst out in excitement when realizing that they were in the presence of Tarzan himself, as Hollywood star, Buster Crabbe completed his first dive into our Natatorium’s history. The spectators cheered after every dive, as Buster waved back to them. He was practicing as a star of the 1941 Water Follies, being held over the next four nights (June 5 -8) at the Montreal Forum. Many felt fortunate to get his autograph that day as Buster “Tarzan” Crabbe, even though Jiggs (Cheeta) was no longer at his side. He would visit the Natatorium many times in the following years, not only to practice, but to sell Victory Bonds in support of Canada’s war effort.

 

    Buster Crabbe was twice a US Olympic swimming champion, winning bronze for his 1,500m freestyle at the 1928 Amsterdam games, and gold for his quick 400m freestyle at the 1932 Los Angeles games. His lead role in the 1933 “Tarzan the Fearless” series successfully launched his acting career and allowed him to star in over one hundred films, including his famous Flash Gordon series of 1936.

 

    In 1941, he decided to entertain us off-screen as well, by showing us his amazing swimming skills, as the main attraction of the travelling “Water Follies” show, which required a temporary natatorium to be built at each of its 34-city stops. Montreal Forum staff would work for 48-hours straight, to install a 325-ton pool structure that would hold 80,000 gallons of water, for the performances of over 100 aquatic stars. The events included thrilling feats of diving and speed, from our own Buster Crabbe, Betty Wilson, NYC’s best swimmer, and famous trick-diver, Joe Peterson of Panama. The comedy acts included Charlie Diehl, the “235-pound marvel of the springboard”, with Clayton Mains and Frank Foster, as some of the many “funny men in bathing suits”. The “Aquabelles”, 20 synchronized mermaids, highlighted each show with their intricate water ballets, beautifully set to orchestrated music. The Forum was decorated like a Miami Beach club, with palm trees, tropical flowers, and eel grass waving throughout. After the shows, “The Coquettes”, an all-girl band, would open the new 3,600-foot dance floor to the audience, to swing the rest of the night away. We can only imagine the beauty and excitement of these shows, with our Tarzan of ’33 diving at center ring.  

 

    Today, Gunny’s lights continue to glow above pool-house, with the upper-deck now closed to the public. The “submarine” lights and the fountain lamps remain dark in their receptacles below the waterline, awaiting an opportunity to shine again. The pedestal lines of the diving boards have long been painted over, hiding the echoes of championships past. The Natatorium once invited swimmers to swim into the night, at times closing at 10pm or later. As we stand by the pools at today’s 8pm closing time, we can still revisit those magical nights by simply closing our eyes and smiling in remembrance, of what was once the finest pool in Canada.

 

    After 71 years, our Natatorium is still a wonderful place to swim on a hot summer’s day. Although, many of us are unaware of its former glory and of the great civic pride we all once held for this wonderful place.

    No longer hosting national competitions nor welcoming celebrities to its doors, the Natatorium endures as a testament to our early city planners. Sitting quietly at the riverfront awaiting the next perfect day, it has become a proud part of our Verdun identity and heritage. Remembering a time, when a true-to-life Tarzan and his world-famous chimp, had swung their way off the silver screen to make a splash within the deepest pools of our Southwest Corner.

 

    Rohinton Ghandhi

 

    Sources: Verdun Guardian 1939-1940 – Google Archi

 

Another Talented Gal From Verdun ( Nuns Island)

Written by Nuns’ Island resident Christine Rodriguez, The Arrangement is a play that revolves around a group of women who’ve been friends for over a decade

 

Hmmmm a Play about some people who have been friends for over a decade.... I've got news for you all reading this article (our post,not the Messenger article) but we have all known each other for at least 10 years now,......  Now that's a play in itself....what shall we call it.... ?

     How about   ?  "Verdun Connections"

 what a good play that would be, with all of it's off shoots (other groups) spawned from here (& lets not forget a little drams at times-lol) & what about those cyber msgs disappearing,you know that same stuff that still happens today in every format,..that's pretty cool, .......dontcha think?

                                      Cheers ! HF&RV  ,& Merry Christmas   -Les

 

 

 

Written by Nuns’ Island resident Christine Rodriguez, The Arrangement is a play that revolves around a group of women who’ve been friends for over a decade.   When the central figure of this circle of friends passes away, an arrangement that she made before her death comes to light, adding pressure to existing rivalries between the friends.  The story criss-crosses between the past, establishing the relationships between the women, and the present, as the friends mourn but also learn things about each other that are shocking, and at times unpleasant.  It all leads to a showdown between the women as they unwittingly become locked in a contest to determine which among them are better friends.

Guest director Jacqueline van de Geer is originally from The Netherlands where she obtained her Masters in Theatre from the Rob van Reijn Mime Academy and her Masters in Fine Arts from the Willem de Kooning Academy of Fine Arts.

Island resident Christine Rodriguez just recently played the lead in the play CALLBACK by American playwright Bill Svanoe at the 2011 Montreal Fringe Festival to great audience reviews. She also appeared in the video segments of 8 Ways My Mother Was Conceived by Michaela Di Cesare which also appeared at the 2011 Montreal Fringe Festival.  She plays the lead role in Fast Love: Second Chances by Black and Blue Productions, directed by Seema Arora.  Christine also appears in Beyond Man, a short film with ran at the 2011Festival des Films du Monde.

In her blog at The Charlebois Post: http://charpo.blogspot.com/2011/09/artists-blogs.html Christine, like many local artists pondering their pursuit of an elusive audience and the many obstacles to a creative life, wonders what it’s all for.

“Actors put in hours and hours of rehearsal, experience gut wrenching moments living the lives of characters going through hell.  The director pushes the actors beyond their limits, loses patience.  The playwright hides in a corner wringing her hands and cringing at each misspoken line...” Christine writes.

“I know that every night we will be there to deliver the best show we possibly can, bearing our hearts and souls, whether only one person shows up or whether the theatre is packed to the brim.  That’s the point,” she concludes.

Christine’s website: http://christinerodriguez.workbooklive.com/

La Tigressa Productions: https://sites.google.com/site/latigressaproductions/home

Dates and Times

The Arrangement will be running:

October 25th to October 30th

Shows:

Tuesday October 25th 8pm (pay-what-you-can preview)

Wednesday October 26th 8pm

Thursday October 27th 8pm

Friday October 28th 8pm

Saturday October 29th 2pm & 8pm

Sunday October 30th 2pm

Tickests: $25 ($20 seniors, students, PWM, QDF members)

Reservations highly recommended (limited seating available): For reservations please contact: latigressa@live.ca

Where: Espace 4001, 4001 Berri Street, Montreal QC

Starring: Julie Barbeau, Luiza Cocora, Michaela Di Cesare, Marie-Noëlle Dufour and Christine Rodriguez.

Beauty in Verdun

Smart young gal...................HF&RV

 

 

 

 

 

 

MONTREAL - Residents of Verdun who are seeking downtown style – at affordable prices – can now find what they are looking for at a swish new Wellington St. beauty salon and spa.

Run by a 23-year-old entrepreneur, Hills Coiffure et Spa was a finalist in this year’s Contessa Awards, the Canadian beauty industry’s most prestigious competition, in the best interior design of a salon category.

Despite the elegant décor – exposed brick walls, custom-designed mirrors and lighting, a coffee bar, a glass-enclosed pedicure room and sleek modern furniture – the 2,500-square-foot salon offers clients down-to-earth friendly pampering at affordable prices.

Services include hair cuts starting at $45, body treatments, facials, waxing, manicures, makeup application and massages. Product lines include Dermalogica, Kerastase and OPI.

After making a cappuccino for a visitor, Ashley Hill and her parents, Jay and Kelly Hill, explained how the business became a family affair.

Originally, Hill thought she would go into the education field like her mother and older sister. But after attending a session of the early childhood education program at Dawson College, Ashley realized that what she really wanted to do was follow her childhood dream of working in the beauty business.

So she signed up for makeup classes at Montreal’s Inter-Dec College.

Before long, she was thinking seriously about opening up her own business.

“I always wanted to open a salon,” she explained.

Members of the Hill family, who are originally from Brossard, decided to pitch in to make her dream happen.

Her parents, who had already invested in a few buildings in the Montreal area, saw a business opportunity for themselves and their daughter.

They figured that Verdun, which is experiencing an influx of new residents from the Montreal area, would be good place to establish their daughter’s salon – and a good real-estate investment for them.

“My wife watches the real-estate market,” said Jay Hill, 54.

“It’s up and coming,” added Kelly Hill, 52.

Former Gazette reporter Mary Lamey, now a realtor with Century 21 who specializes in properties in the Verdun area, agreed.

She said the neighbourhood has traditionally been blue collar but that lately more people have been moving there from trendy – but expensive – downtown Montreal neighbourhoods such as the Plateau Mont Royal. Lamey said new restaurants and other businesses have been steadily opening to serve the residents of Verdun’s popular new condo projects.

“It’s like the Plateau used to be,” she said.

The first day the Hills looked at properties, they found a well-priced two-storey building on Wellington with a retail space on the first floor and a rental unit on the second floor. Ashley’s father put in a firm offer on the spot.

The first floor, which used to be a card shop, required a complete gutting and renovation job.

The Hills hired a design firm that specializes in beauty salons for the basic layout, but the family picked the furniture and fixtures.

Her dad, a contractor, then spent the next eight months completely gutting and renovating the building and creating the salon.

“There were seven layers of floors of plywood and carpet,” he said, adding that he had to jackhammer the old concrete floors and completely rebuild all the floor joists before laying down a new floor.

The family invested $320,000 in the renovations, he said, but he noted the price would normally have been higher because “I worked for free.”

The work was delayed for several weeks when a strike at the Old Port last year meant they couldn’t get access to a shipment of slate-like porcelain floor tiles they had ordered from Italy, Ashley said.

The salon was finally finished last November. Family members worked around the clock, completing the finishing touches. Ashley’s older sister went into labour while unpacking boxes and gave birth to a boy two hours before the grand opening.

Since then, the client list has grown and the staff members now include three full-time and two part-time employees.

Ashley’s parents remain silent partners in the business, she said. Asked about profitably, Hill said the salon now generates a positive cash flow, but that it will still take several years before she is able to repay the loan to her parents.

But her father makes it clear that they are hands off about the business.

“She runs the show,” he said.

On the Web: salonhills.com                              HF&RV............Cheers ! & Merry Christmas  -Les

The Old Stone House .................No: Not the one in Verdun

Quebec does have some cool old stone houses,& plenty of them really.This guy just put out a 'coffee table' type book on old houses around LaBelle Province (it might be a neat book to have ?) .......They do all look quite similar really from the one in Verdun to this version called Therrien House in Laval.......well stones are stones I guess ......

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a longer version of descriptive text for the Therrien House, which appears on page 110 of Laval photographer Perry Mastrovito's just released new coffee-table book Old Homes of Quebec (Éditions Broquet Inc, 160 pages, bilingual text, $39.95). The book, lavishly illustrated with more than 300 colour photos, showcases some of Quebec's most magnificent old log and fieldstone homes constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as some built just a couple of decades ago.

This former farm house built around 1722 in St. François, Laval, is believed to be one of the oldest homes in the area.

Records reveal the original inhabitant, Pierre Beauchamp, a carpenter, was given the land by the Séminaire de Québec in 1718. In 1846, Charles Therrien acquired the house and the adjacent agricultural fields. For 140 years, several generations of the Therrien family occupied this fieldstone house, hence the name "Therrien house."

To this day, a large part of the land, which surrounds the house that faces the Mille Îles River, is still used for growing crops. On Aug. 28, 1974, it was designated a historic monument by the Ministre des Affaires Culturelles du Québec.

This part of Laval, with its wide open spaces, provides the perfect rural setting for this type of old house.

And because of these surroundings, it's easy to imagine the sounds made almost three centuries ago, of horses and other livestock in the fields, and the thunderous roar of trees being felled by axe for firewood and to clear the land for planting crops.

In his book, Laval - Une histoire d'appartenance, Marcel Paquette, a historian, writes that in the '70s at the request of the Société d'histoire de L'île Jésus, archaeological searches were undertaken not too far from here at the easternmost point of the island.

Some arrowhead tips and the vestiges of an Algonquin Indian settlement camp were uncovered.

In spite of these remarkable discoveries, no other efforts were expended to further exploit the dig site.

The present owners bought this home in 2006. While showing me around their property, after I had scouted it for possible inclusion in my book Old Homes of Quebec, they told me a fact about this house which conjured in my mind an incredible image.

Apparently sometime in the 1700s, the house came under attack by natives.

Upstairs in the master bedroom, there's a mezzanine, which serves as the exercise room and there you can get a good close-up view of the underside of the original roof boards, which lay bare just like when they were first installed.

Upon closer inspection of these roof boards, and incredulous as it may seem and sound, especially since we're talking here almost 300 years ago, the actual holes and black scorch marks left by two flaming arrows, which hit their mark and pierced through the roof, are still visible.

When the owners redid the roof, they were able to restore and keep the original roof boards intact and exposed because they opted to solidify and insulate the roof, which is covered with cedar shingles from the outside.

Another peculiar and fascinating aspect about this house, which is not readily apparent at first glance, is that when you're standing on the front lawn looking at the house, one automatically perceives it as being the façade. In fact, it is actually the rear of the house we are seeing as it was constructed to be back in the day.

For as the rural population expanded in Laval and elsewhere, a continuous road system, which could connect the different municipalities together, had to be developed and maintained. So some municipalities and towns either expropriated or bought from the owners parts of their land to reconfigure or extend the road.

This home, like a few others I encountered, had to either substitute the back of the house for the front, as is the case here, or vice versa.

Other owners had no choice but to move their house back from the side of the new road because it was too close for comfort.

To the right of the main house, the extension that was added about five years ago is used today as the main entrance which opens up onto the kitchen.

The former occupants, I was told, did all their cooking in the dining room area.

                        .HF&RV......Cheers ! & Merry Christmas to you all,........   -Les

Hands in the Cookie Jar..............have the People Had Enough ?

"Because what the politicians hadn’t counted on was that, armed with even a few facts, the people might one day rise up, and say “ça suffit.”

 

Secret Society: A hint of transparancy.A 2011 chronology of secrets kept and revelations made by Quebec’s power brokers – and why it matters:

Photograph by: John Kenney, Gazette files

This is how it is done, how it has always been done.

We don’t want to jeopardize negotiations, the politicians said. We don’t want to frighten people.

These reports are too complicated, ordinary people would not understand.

Enough. 2011 is the year Quebecers said enough.

Montreal’s bridges and highways were falling down, victims of neglect, flawed design and poor workmanship. Mobsters had already seized control of the construction industry, boosting the cost of roadwork by 35 per cent. Now there was talk of cozy deals for everything from asphalt to those sweet $7 spots in subsidized daycare. Universities dismissed top people with plump severance packages and bland explanations. The cost of mega-hospitals skyrocketed. Defence lawyers were beaten up. The city of Montreal got caught spying on its own auditor-general.

It’s tempting to try to make connections, to figure out how all the elements fit together. But like a thousand-piece puzzle where a cruel factory fairy left the picture off the box, key information was missing, off-limits, shielded by confidentiality laws, nervous cabinet ministers or bullheaded civil servants.

The binding thread was secrecy, a law of political omerta born of a culture of entitlement, a belief that the less the rest of us knew, the better.

Last February, The Gazette took aim at Quebec’s secret society, making it our business to demand more openness and accountability from government and public institutions.

Because what the politicians hadn’t counted on was that, armed with even a few facts, the people might one day rise up, and say “ça suffit.”

Citizens, enraged, disgusted and indignant – at the waste of their hard-earned money, paying for inflated contracts to line the pockets of criminals; at the waste of their time, in endless traffic jams – would begin to question the way things were, to demand explanations.

“Things need to change,” said Hani Beitinjaneh, who lost his wife Léa Guilbeault in July 2009 when a concrete slab tumbled 18 storeys off an office building on Peel St. and landed on the table where they were celebrating her birthday. Since then, he has invested countless hours investigating cases of faulty infrastructure, poor construction and neglect.

“You have to send an access request and then they send you documents, and then you find there are more documents. It’s like a puzzle. No one level of government has it all.”

All the while, the world was changing at the speed of Twitter. Inspired by WikiLeaks, by such populist rebellions as the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, and enabled by technology, it was increasingly difficult to keep anything secret for very long. For better, and sometimes, worse, privacy wasn’t what it used to be. Sooner or later, like it or not, the information was going to come out. The only question was how.

Here in Quebec, the secret society showed signs of cracking.

Probes into corruption and collusion in Quebec’s construction industry began years ago, as reporters at The Gazette, La Presse and Radio-Canada began turning over rocks and making troubling links between contractors, deals and political parties. It was arduous work. Montreal’s executive committee meets behind closed doors, its agenda and documents labelled confidential. What was discussed, how much was paid, even who asked questions or raised objections was off-limits. After deals were inked, contracts were difficult to obtain, tangled in the red tape of access-to-information requests and appeals that could take years.

But a couple of breakthroughs happened late last winter, the fruit of years of digging and needling by the press and mounting pressure from the political opposition and the public.

The Charest government named former Montreal police chief Jacques Duchesneau to head a special anti-collusion unit, one flank of a permanent anti-corruption super squad.

Duchesneau, a one-time mayoralty candidate, was known to be fearless. This was a man who once arrested his boss for taking narcotics from an evidence locker.

In April, Quebec enacted a law that requires municipalities to post all contracts over $25,000 on an official government website.

The legislation wasn’t perfect. There’s no penalty for cities and towns that fail to comply and no one designated to police it. But it was a start, a place to track the big players and connect the dots.

By September, Duchesneau’s team said it had evidence of widespread corruption in the construction industry, with biker gangs and the Mafia throwing their weight around and playing a role in buying elections, particularly in smaller communities.

“Organized crime is comfortably installed,” said Duchesneau, insisting a full public inquiry was the only way to clear the air and root out the rot.

At first, Premier Jean Charest rejected a public inquiry, arguing it would thwart potential criminal prosecution.

But opinion polls showed four out of five Quebecers – and more than half of all Liberal voters – want a full investigation. When Justice France Charbonneau this fall requested and won subpoena powers for a public inquiry expected to take two years, Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier’s explanation was simply that the situation had “evolved.”

Meanwhile, Transport Quebec said it would set up an online registry where it would be possible to track construction firms that have been convicted of wrongdoing.

At least something good came of our long hot summer on “Coney Island.”

This was a very bad year for Montreal motorists to live on the other side of a bridge. Any bridge.

In January, federal officials met privately to figure out how to put a good spin on “alarming” inspection reports about the Champlain Bridge. In June, sections of the Mercier Bridge were closed with scant warning after engineering studies signalled dangerous wear to gusset plates.

Officials in Quebec and Ottawa refused to provide inspection reports. Transport Minister Sam Hamad said people would not understand them. Federal Transport Minister Denis Lebel said he didn’t want to incite panic. There was nothing to fear, Hamad said.

“We never put the lives of users in peril. The state of Quebec bridges, the state of Quebec infrastructure, we’re taking care of it.”

And then, on a Sunday morning at the end of July, a 15-metre-wide concrete beam and overhead grids known as paralumes tumbled off the entrance to the mid-tunnel on the Ville Marie Expressway.

No one was hurt. But the risks were no longer theoretical.

That’s where Hamad was proven wrong. Falling concrete was one of those things everyone not only understood but cared about.

City, provincial and federal authorities were wary about releasing any details about what was wrong and why it had taken them so long to do anything about it. But by now, hundreds of thousands of people had already been inconvenienced by the emergency repairs. With plans for a new Turcot Interchange and rumours brewing of a bridge to replace the Champlain, traffic mayhem was expected to get worse before it got better.

Three days after the Ville Marie collapse, Hamad announced the government would soon release inspection reports on the Mercier Bridge and the Turcot Interchange. A day later, Montreal promised to release inspection reports for nearly 600 structures under its control.

Just after Labour Day, traditionally Montreal’s worst traffic day that doesn’t come with snow, Sam Hamad was shuffled out of the Transport portfolio. His replacement, a sharp, smooth-talking lawyer named Pierre Moreau, immediately shifted the tone from confrontation to conciliation, promising the government would be more forthcoming with updates and inspection reports. Two weeks later, Quebec launched a searchable online database that will house infrastructure inspection reports. “Quebecers want transparency, toughness and integrity,” Moreau said. “They are going to get it.”

In late November, Moreau’s office released 35 inspection reports on the Turcot Interchange. Findings were uniformly grim, the only question mark how urgently work needed to be done to keep the nexus functioning until a replacement was ready in 2018.

At least now people knew what was happening. So when Transport Quebec announced this week that it was banning heavy trucks from a Turcot ramp linking the Decarie Expressway to the Champlain Bridge after cracks were discovered, there was no longer astonishment. Just heavy sighs.

There were other indications that the cone of silence had been lifted, that the message was getting through that Quebecers were fed up with being spoon-fed just enough information to keep them complacent.

Under the direction of a new chief, Marc Parent, the Montreal police promised greater engagement with communities and a willingness to grapple with charges of systemic profiling of individuals because of their race, ethnic background or sexual orientation. In October, Fady Dagher, director of communications and community relations, promised a fresh and “surprising” approach in the SPVM’s policy directives, expected within weeks.

The department won praise for its smart and, compared with elsewhere, benign handling of the Occupy Montreal encampment at Victoria Square. And these days citizens keen to know what the police are up to can find out and talk back by tuning in to the Montreal force’s Twitter feed (@spvm).

In an effort to give open government a friendly push, The Gazette launched an online database in September to monitor who gets Montreal city contracts, for how much, and who made the decision.

But there is still room for improvement on the secrecy front.

At the beginning of the year, Quebec adopted a new code of ethics for members of the National Assembly. MNAs are now required to file declarations to the Commissioner of Ethics spelling out their business interests and real-estate assets, as well as those of close family members. Yet the salaries of senior government officials and civil servants remain confidential.

As the year ends, the city has yet to release the bulk of the reports on 600 Montreal-administered roads and structures that it promised after the Ville Marie collapse last summer.

Information in the city database for contracts is uneven, especially regarding the boroughs. Cities and towns are on the honour system to report what they spent and who got the contract.

Meetings of the city’s executive committee remain closed to the public, their discussions and who dissented off-limits even after decisions are made.

The same is true of many public and para-public bodies.

When the board of directors of the McGill University Health Centre met this week – behind closed doors, as they generally do – they accepted the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer Arthur Porter, four months ahead of schedule and just weeks after questions were raised about his non-MUHC activities and about the spiralling cost overruns for the mammoth hospital project at the Glen campus. The MUHC issued a prepared statement about Porter’s departure at 7:45 p.m. Neither he, nor anyone on the board, was available to explain the decision.

The hasty departure of Concordia University president Judith Woodsworth during the Christmas break triggered a winter of soul-searching at the university and an uprising by faculty, staff and students. After luring former president Fred Lowy back to restore calm, an external committee was assigned to propose changes in the structure and duties of the board of governors, which had been deemed secretive and exclusive. It’s not yet clear how effective those changes will be.

At McGill, demands for more openness have been blossoming this fall, sparked by the administration’s handling of a strike by non-academic personnel and the use of pepper spray on students who invaded principal Heather Munroe-Blum’s office during a demonstration last month against tuition fee hikes. Under the slogan, We Are All McGill, students and faculty held a rally demanding explanations. Munroe-Blum, who was recently granted a one-year extension on her second term as principal, said she was shocked by the police intervention and asked the dean of law to investigate.

This week, nine years after it was first promised, Quebec finally launched a public registry to record accidents, errors and medical mishaps in the province’s hospitals, community clinics and nursing homes.

Though a valiant and laudable first step, there are still kinks in the centralized database. At least nine hospitals failed to supply any results, blaming “technical difficulties.” And one-third of hospitals and nursing homes neglected to inform patients or their families of medical mistakes, although they have been obliged to do so since 2002.

There are still many unanswered questions: about the real story behind auditor-general Jacques Bergeron and email espionage at city hall; about why it took so long to realize our highways are cracked, our bridges are corroded and our waterworks are leaking; or how the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, which had secured $44 million in government funding, wound up saddling the city with a $4.77 million deficit.

As the year began, Quebec’s new Access to Information Commissioner, Jean Chartier, said he was committed to greater openness by the government and public agencies. “The more information is made public, the more citizens become conscious and interested in public issues. As long as people cultivate a climate of secrecy, the more it tends to create frustration.”

Yet he shared the view of his predecessor, Jacques St. Laurent, that changing mindsets in government’s upper echelons was a long-term project.

Indeed, more often than not, it still takes a tedious access-to-information process to find out something that as citizens and taxpayers we ought to know, whether it’s why renovating Hélène de Champlain restaurant is running $9 million over budget or what it would cost to electrify Montreal commuter trains.

But whether the politicians like it or not, our notion of what should and should not be public information has shifted, even since this year began. Folks at city hall or the National Assembly can surrender information willingly. Or they can waste huge amounts of time and energy trying to explain the daily embarrassment when something they tried to hide winds up in the newspaper, on radio or TV.

A 2011 chronology of secrets kept and revelations made by Quebec’s power brokers – and why it matters:

January

6-19: Federal officials meet behind closed doors to discuss “alarming” language in a “structural health assessment” by Delcan Corp. on the Champlain Bridge. Delcan engineers cite the risk of “partial collapse or collapse of a span.” Briefing notes say there are no plans to release the report, but cautions that “leaks are always possible.”

10: After three weeks of silence, Concordia University’s board of governors breaks silence on abrupt departure of Judith Woodsworth, the second university president in a row to leave midway through their mandate. Woodsworth is entitled to more than $700,000 in severance benefits. Board chair Peter Kruyt issues a written statement but refuses to meet reporters or answer questions. Two days later, 225 Concordia professors and staff sign open letter demanding a thorough public review of way university is governed.

19: Judge Michel Bastarache says judicial appointment process is “vulnerable to all manner of interventions and influence.” Though he rejects allegations by former justice minister Marc Bellemare of political meddling, the former Supreme Court justice says changes are needed to make judicial appointments transparent “to prevent executive discretion from undermining public confidence.”

25: Jonathan Brun and partners at Montreal Ouvert host city’s first Data Hackathon. They have begun pressing city to adopt Open Data concept and make scores of documents, reports and expenses accounts accessible in malleable open files.

February

3: Sylvie St. Jean, former mayor of Boisbriand, is one of seven people charged after Operation Hammer squad investigation into allegations of bribery in awarding of city contracts.

5: The Gazette launches Secret Society probe into Quebec’s behind-closed-doors approach to issues of great public interest, such as meetings and decisions of city’s executive committee and other public and para-public boards, public sector salaries, inspection reports.

An official at Quebec’s Access to Information Commission says different approach to privacy for senior public-sector jobs between Quebec and Ontario is cultural. “We do not ask someone what their salary is.”

Quebec Court of Appeal orders Access to Information Commission to re-launch a six-year-old request by The Gazette for financial records relating to the 2005 World Aquatic Championships. The games, which received $16 million in federal grants and millions in support and services from Quebec and the city, ended up with a $4.77 million deficit.

18: Quebec creates anti-corruption super squad that will combine Operation Hammer police investigators, Revenue Québec, the construction commission and a special anti-collusion unit, to be headed by former Montreal police chief Jacques Duchesneau.

March

16: Robert Lafrenière named head of Quebec’s permanent anti-corruption unit.

17: La Presse newspaper obtains copies of Delcan Corp. inspection reports that say condition of Champlain Bridge is mediocre to deficient. Studies say deterioration is progressing “and risks to the bridge are increasing as time passes by.” Reports subsequently released by federal government.

18: Concordia University summons Bernard Shapiro, former principal of McGill, out of retirement to head external governance review.

21: A Gazette investigation shows Montrealers paying at least $30 million for studies on reconstruction of a short stretch of the Bonaventure Expressway. However, there is a discrepancy between city documents and financial statements by the Société du Havre de Montréal. The non-profit corporation does not issue annual reports and was criticized in 2010 for providing few details on its finances during hearings on the Dalhousie St. bus corridor.

April

1: New provincial law requires municipalities to post all contracts over $25,000 on SEAO, the official government website for tenders.

13: Quebec makes Montreal city hall focus of first investigation by anti-corruption squad. The investigation centres on allegations private security firms were awarded contracts without bids and that city comptroller Pierre Reid intercepted emails of council speaker Claude Dauphin and city auditor-general Jacques Bergeron. Public Security minister says results of the investigation will be made public.

May

10: Arthur Porter, chief executive officer of McGill University Health Centre, announces he will not seek a third term. Porter does not explain his decision and is not available for interviews.

June

14: Sections of Mercier Bridge closed without warning for emergency repairs after inspection reports showed some metal gusset plates had to be repaired.

17: A 30-centimetre wide pothole is discovered in a part of the bridge which is still being used.

The Gazette files access request with Transport Quebec for inspection reports on the Mercier Bridge.

29: Transport Minister Sam Hamad refuses to release inspection reports for the Mercier Bridge, saying the public does not need them and would not understand what they said. “There is no compromise with safety on any infrastructure,” he said.

July

15: Federal Transport Minister Denis Lebel refuses to release studies on state of Champlain Bridge lest it cause unnecessary panic.

18: Canada Revenue Agency goes to Federal Court to seek an order forcing 150 Quebec municipalities to reveal all payments made to contractors and consultants over last four years. The move followed earlier probe into Montreal contracts. However the revenue agency refuses to say how that investigation is proceeding, citing confidentiality rules.

19: Transport Quebec rejects access request for inspection reports on Mercier Bridge.

31: A 15-metre-wide concrete beam and a section of supporting grid work falls off the entrance to the Ville Marie Expressway tunnel. No one is hurt, but tunnel is closed for several days.

August

3: Transport Minister Sam Hamad says department will soon release inspection reports on the Mercier span and the Turcot Interchange.

4: Montreal says city will release inspection reports for nearly 600 structures administered by the city.

10: The Gazette files request for access to public agendas and minutes of meetings of city of Montreal executive committee. City says it considers agendas for meetings drafts, which are confidential.

18: Gazette investigation reveals the Montreal General Hospital has acquired neighbouring land and plans to build outpatient clinics, although it did not obtain required authorization from the government, the city or the Montreal Health and Social Services Agency. MUHC officials refuse to disclose the financial terms of the purchase from businessman Vincent Chiara.

19: Transport Quebec refuses to release complete version of most recent Dessau Inc. engineering inspection on the Mercier Bridge, or previous detailed inspection in 2008.

30: Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc. rejects Gazette request for 2010 inspection report, with reference to exceptions when offences could be committed or valuable technical information disclosed. The Gazette files appeal with federal access commissioner. The city still hasn’t released the promised reports on city structures.

September

7: Embattled Sam Hamad shuffled out of the transport portfolio, replaced by Pierre Moreau, who promises greater transparency.

14: Report by Jacques Duchesneau’s anti-collusion unit leaked to select media outlets, cites widespread corruption and collusion in Quebec’ construction industry, linking construction contracts to the Mafia, biker gangs and political parties.

15: Transport Minister Pierre Moreau refuses to release Duchesneau’s full report, because it could interfere with police probe into corruption charges.

16: Premier Jean Charest says he will not call a public inquiry into charges of corruption and collusion.

16: Five months after new law on contract disclosure takes effect, only a fraction of the contracts awarded by Montreal and its 19 boroughs have been posted on the public database. There are no penalties for cities and towns that don’t comply.

19: Transport Quebec promises to launch searchable online database of inspection reports for thousands of provincial structures. “I want people travelling our roads to know what they could expect,” Transport Minister Pierre Moreau says.

22: Gazette launches documents.montrealgazette.com, an online database to monitor municipal contracts by contractor, amount, category and the decision-making body.

27: Jacques Duchesneau testifies before National Assembly committee, says a public inquiry into corruption in the Quebec construction industry is “the only way to reassure the public and correct problems that have become structural.”

However, Duchesneau suggested a first round of closed-door hearings, to protect witnesses from possible retaliation. Liberal MNAs say police work and more stringent laws are best way to push organized crime out of construction industry.

October

5: Federal Transport Minister Denis Lebel announces plans to build a new bridge to replace the Champlain, at a cost of $3 to $5 billion.

5: Montreal’s executive committee turns down zoning request by Montreal General Hospital for outpatient clinics.

6: Gazette investigation reveals 10 suppliers – out of more than 12,600 – awarded nearly 25 per cent of city contracts over the last five years. The 10, primarily in the construction industry, accounted for work valued at $1.04 billion. Findings were result of municipal contract database developed by The Gazette.

11: Tony Tomassi, a member of the National Assembly and former family minister in Charest government, charged with two counts of fraud and one of breach of trust.

17: Fifty-seven per cent of Liberal voters say they favour a public inquiry into allegations of corruption and collusion in construction contracts.

18: Gazette investigation shows just three companies received more than 69 per cent of paving contracts awarded by Transport Quebec between October 2009 and July 2011.

20: Quebec announces dozens of measures aimed at routing out corruption and price-fixing in road construction contracts. “Quebec wants transparency, toughness and integrity,” Transport Minister Pierre Moreau says. In addition to hiring more engineers and penalties for cost overruns, government promises to create a registry by June 2012 that will provide details needed to block companies convicted of fraud, collusion and corruption.

November

8: Arthur Porter, outgoing CEO of the MUHC and chairman of Canada’s Security and Intelligence Agency, comes under the microscope over news reports detailing his involvement with a Montreal-based lobbyist on behalf of an infrastructure deal in Africa that was never built.

9: Under intense pressure from opposition, media and the public, Charest government grants full inquiry and subpoena powers to anti-corruption commission headed by Justice France Charbonneau.

13: The board of directors of the MUHC sets up a special committee to work with CEO Arthur Porter for the final months of his term. In a statement, the MUHC says Porter had disclosed his outside business activities but they appear to take up more time than originally anticipated. In addition to his work with the Canadian spy agency, Porter sits on several corporate boards and founded a cancer clinic in the Bahamas.

14: A confidential 2010 inspection report obtained by The Gazette through an access request shows two overpasses on the approach to the Champlain Bridge are in “mediocre” condition with concrete crumbling and corroding reinforced steel. The bridge authority had denied access to the report in August but released an abridged version of the inspection report after The Gazette filed an appeal. Names of engineers who conducted the report, estimated cost of repairs and other data were deleted.

17: Gazette inquiry shows prices for city construction work is beginning to inch back up after a 30 to 40 per cent drop in prices immediately after anti-collusion measures were introduced.

17: Agence métropolitaine de transport refuses to release a 2010 study on the costs and benefits of electrifying commuter trains, saying it would hamper negotiations and have “adverse effects on (AMT’s) economic interests.”

25: Transport Quebec releases 35 inspection reports detailing the sorry condition of the Turcot Interchange. Transport Minister Pierre Moreau says province will spend $254 million to repair and monitor the 18-kilometre highway network until a replacement is built and it can be demolished in 2018.

26-27: Concrete grids, known as paralumes, are removed from the Ville Marie Expressway.

30: Quebec’s auditor-general Renaud Lachance chastises Treasury Board president and former family minister Michèle Courchesne for the “subjective” way spots were allotted in subsidized daycare centres.

December

2: Gazette analysis shows Montreal’s two super hospitals will cost taxpayers nearly three times the original estimates. Together with major renovations at Ste. Justine, Shriners, the Jewish General, Lachine and the Montreal Neuro, hospital construction costs are expected to top $7 billion.

2: Quebec sets up independent bureau to observe police investigations of police. But the proposed legislation ignored appeals from the Quebec human rights’ commission and Quebec’s ombudsman that police should no longer be called on to investigate other cops.

5: Arthur Porter steps down as CEO of the MUHC four months ahead of schedule. Board chair David Angus delivered the news at a closed-door session of the board. Porter is not available for comment.

6: Quebec launches public registry to track medical errors in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes, nine years after it first promised to do so. Quebec becomes the first province to set up a standardized database.

6: Heavy trucks are barred from a ramp on the Turcot Interchange after cracks are discovered. The ramp, which links the Décarie Expressway to the Champlain Bridge, had been scheduled for major repairs next year.

8: Fay Forbes, whose son Jason was killed at a St. Henri bar 10 years ago, talks about the culture of silence and lack of trust in police that stops many in Montreal’s black community from speaking out.

..............................Have Fun & Remember Verdun..............................Cheers ! HF&RV

Your Turn

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2:                    Bored Yet ?

55 Years Ago Transit Riot in Montreal

                                                                           Photos: The 1955 Montreal tram riot

 

On Dec. 9, 1955, Montreal university students marched to city hall to protest an increase in tram fares. But what started out as a peaceful demonstration soon turned into a violent riot, causing a great deal of damage and forcing all trams and buses off the streets.

               ......why is it always students who start the riots ?        HF&RV   Cheers !  - Les

Col. Potter Checks Out.......................Harry Morgan Dies @ 96

                                  'M*A*S*H' star passes away

By Amber Dowling

2011-12-07

Harry Morgan dead at 96 years old                                                                               Sad news out of Los Angeles on Wednesday morning — prolific television actor Harry Morgan passed away at the age of 96 at his family home, his son Charles has confirmed.

Throughout his career, Morgan starred in a number of television roles — and over 100 movies — but is perhaps best known for his long-running gig as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H, the commander of the American medical unit from 1975, when he replaced exiting actor McLean Stevenson, until 1983.

Morgan's role on M*A*S*H earned him an Emmy award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1980, an award he was nominated for 10 times throughout his extensive career.

Morgan also played the role of Officer Bill Gannon in Dragnet from 1967-1970, and was a regular on The Richard Boone Show in the early 1960s. Before that he starred as Pete Porter on Pete and Gladys alongside Cara Williams as Gladys.

The character actor was also known for his role of Charly Fields on The Love Boat and for appearances on the popular Western drama Gunsmoke, as well as recurring or starring appearances on December Bride, Hec Ramsey, Backstairs at the White House and Blacke's Magic.

In recent years Morgan was seen on The Jeff Foxworthy Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Grace Under Fire and Renegade; in 1995 he voiced Bill Gannon in the “Mother Simpson” episode of The Simpsons.

Morgan was born as Harry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915, in Detroit to Norwegian immigrants. He moved to California in 1942 and, according to The New York Times, was intent on becoming a lawyer when he discovered a love for theatre during in-class debates

Turcot Interchange Seelctive Use for Certain Trucks ,No Heavy Loads

                                                                                                                                                                        Transport Quebec is barring heavy trucks from a Turcot Interchange ramp so emergency repairs can be done after cracks were discovered.

The ramp, which links the Décarie Expressway to Highway 15 south leading to the Champlain Bridge, was to be closed to heavy trucks as of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The restriction applies only to trucks weighing more than 4,500 kilograms.

Cars, buses and emergency vehicles can continue to use the ramp.

But the six-kilometre truck detour, via Highway 20 and the Angrignon Interchange, could exacerbate traffic problems in the area.

Engineers who monitor the Turcot advised on Monday that cracks in the structure had to be repaired immediately, a Transport Quebec spokesperson said.

The two-lane, 750-metre-long ramp is used by about 31,000 vehicles daily.

Repairs are to begin Wednesday, with work expected to be completed by the end of January.

The ramp in question is scheduled for major repairs next year.

In April 2010, structural problems on the same ramp forced Transport Quebec to close one of its two lanes for several weeks, causing major traffic headaches.

Turcot inspection reports made public last month showed engineers have given all 35 of the structures in the Turcot Interchange and adjacent structures the worst grade possible.

Quebec is spending $254 million repairing the structures until they can be torn down after replacements are built as part of the $3-billion Turcot reconstruction.

That project is to begin in 2012 and be completed in 2018.

In December 2010, Transport Quebec barred trucks from the Mercier Bridge over safety concerns. That ban was lifted in September.

Transport Quebec has posted a map showing the detour heavy trucks must take around the Turcot ramp:

                          .Have Fun and Remember Verdun..........................Cheers ! -Les

Are You in Sync,.....Harmonic Motion ...Pendelum Waves

What it shows: Fifteen uncoupled simple pendulums of monotonically increasing lengths dance together to produce visual traveling waves, standing waves, beating, and random motion. One might call this kinetic art and the choreography of the dance of the pendulums is stunning! Aliasing and quantum revival can also be shown.

How it works: The period of one complete cycle of the dance is 60 seconds. The length of the longest pendulum has been adjusted so that it executes 51 oscillations in this 60 second period. The length of each successive shorter pendulum is carefully adjusted so that it executes one additional oscillation in this period. Thus, the 15th pendulum (shortest) undergoes 65 oscillations. When all 15 pendulums are started together, they quickly fall out of sync—their relative phases continuously change because of their different periods of oscillation. However, after 60 seconds they will all have executed an integral number of oscillations and be back in sync again at that instant, ready to repeat the dance.

Setting it up: The pendulum waves are best viewed from above or down the length of the apparatus. Video projection is a must for a large lecture hall audience. You can play the video below to see the apparatus in action. One instance of interest to note is at 30 seconds (halfway through the cycle), when half of the pendulums are at one amplitude maximum and the other half are at the opposite amplitude maximum.

Comments: Our apparatus was built from a design published by Richard Berg ¹ at the University of Maryland. He claims their version is copied from one at Moscow State University.  Dr. Jiri Drabek at Palacky University in the Czech Republic has informed us that it was originally designed and constructed by Ernst Mach, professor of mathematics in Praha and Vienna around the year 1867.  The demonstration is used in the Czech Republic under the name "Machuv vinostroj" -- the "Wavemachine of Mach."  The apparatus we have was designed and built by Nils Sorensen.

James Flaten and Kevin Parendo² have mathematically modeled the collective motions of the pendula with a continuous function. The function does not cycle in time and they show that the various patterns arise from aliasing of this function—the patterns are a manifestation of spatial aliasing (as opposed to temporal). Indeed, if you've ever used a digital scope to observe a sinusoidal signal, you have probably seen some of these patterns on the screen when the time scale was not set appropriately.

Here at Harvard, Prof Eric Heller has suggested that the demonstration could be used to simulate quantum revival. So here you have quantum revival versus classical periodicity