Category Archives: Heron Park News
Canadian Tire helps HPCA raise $2,600 for Playstructure fundraiser!
Raffle prize for HPCA Playstructure fundraising event
This lovely Master Chef T620 grill was the prize for the Sunday, June 21 raffle draw put on at the Bank and Heron Canadian Tire as a fundraising event for the Playstructure Fund. Heron Canadian Tire generously donated the grill–valued at more than $380– to the Heron Park Community Association to raffle off. Four successful days of fundraising culminated in the winning ticket being drawn at 4pm on Father’s Day. Over $2,600 was raised!
As with any community event, it wouldn’t be successful without enthusiastic, hardworking volunteers from the neighbourhood. Maritala Robinson and Leo Derome are very grateful to Peter Fourney for approaching the Bank and Heron Canadian Tire and securing the donated BBQ. Manager Matt Johnson facilitated the donation of the grill and the fundraising activities at his Canadian Tire location.
Congratulations to Dan of Albion Road!!! Dan is the winner of the Master Chef T620 grill.
Kid’s Pool Now Open
The kid’s wading pool at Heron Park is now open for the summer!
The pool is full of water and lifeguards are on duty:
July: 11am – 6pm every day except Saturday
August: 11am – 5pm every day except Saturday
Have fun!
New Sandwich Boards
New Sandwich Boards in Heron Park!
Colin MacLean and Mike Bednarek pose with sandwich boards Mike created and Colin painted. Patches does a quick quality appraisal.
Following is a gallery of images of the sandwich boards that were put into good use for our Playstructure Fund BBQ Raffle at Canadian Tire held over two successive weekends at the Bank and Heron Canadian Tire. The draw was held on Father’s Day–Sunday, June 21, 2009. Photographer Laurie Bednarek.
What is Neighbourhood Watch?
Neighbourhood Watch is about maintaining a safe community and protecting ourselves and our neighbours from falling victim to criminal elements. Its aim is to get citizens involved in discouraging and preventing crime at the local level. The ultimate success of Neighbourhood Watch depends largely on communication between area residents and the police – and more importantly, between residents themselves.
I just happened to notice a stranger pull into my neighbour’s driveway, when I knew that he and his wife were both away at work. As soon as I lifted the curtain, the guy got right back into his car and drove off. Possible a coincidence, but I noted his license number – just in case.” Retiree, Alta Vista, Ottawa
The above information comes from the Ottawa Police Service’s website. You can access the information about Neighbourhood Watch by going to:
http://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/crime_prevention/neighbourhood_watch/index.cfm
Since we started organizing Neighbourhood Watch in the fall of 2008, we have had mixed results with regards to getting our neighbours to fill out and return the NW forms. Without the completed forms being returned, it is difficult to demonstrate to the Neighbourhood Watch organization that we have broad-based support here in the community. Without broad-based support, we can’t get signage posted strategically throughout the neighbourhood. The signage will act as a visible deterrent to ne’er-do-wells by proclaiming our collective interest in maintaining a safe community.
If you have a form, please complete it and contact Colin to arrange to have it picked up. If you would like to fill out a form, please contact Colin to get one. People who have already identified themselves as wanting to perform the roles of Block Captains are encouraged to canvass their blocks to get their neighbours to complete the forms.
There will be a Neighbourhood Watch meeting on Thursday, June 18, 2009. If interested in attending, please RSVP before Monday, June 16 by e-mailing Colin MacLean at cmaclean_esl@yahoo.com or by phoning 613-863-5101. The meeting will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Heron Park Community Centre on Clover Street. The meeting will be used to explain how NW will function here in Heron Park and what we still need to do to get it established.
Colin MacLean
Wednesday Night Program 2008-2009 Annual Report
The Wednesday Night Program was started a year ago to provide local kids and teens with supervised sports and games, a meal, and literacy and numeracy support each Wednesday Night in Heron Park. We have made good use of the recently improved Community Centre and the play areas in the park during the past four seasons.
The WNP has been a great success and we have seen:
o More than 75 kids, teens and young adults between the ages of 6 and 20
o More than 40 adults, including many parents
o More than 25 children under the age of 6
o In total, close to 150 people, who have participated in some fashion in the Wednesday Night program since its inception in the spring of 2008.
Weather-permitting, we played a variety of seasonal sports in the fields, rink and basketball court in Heron Park. In inclement weather when we moved indoors, we had logic puzzles such as Ken-Ken and Sudoku to challenge us. Hang-man and card games were also used to encourage teamwork and gamesmanship. On the rare occasions that hotdogs and microwave-food weren’t served, we treated ourselves to delicious pizza from O’Brien’s Eatery and Pub.
Through the winter we averaged close to 5 youth per Wednesday. Now that summer is almost upon us, we are once again starting to see a greater number of young children and their parents and we expect the numbers of older children and teens to reach last year’s average of 10 per week.
The WNP continues to enjoy broad-based support throughout Heron Park and last fall we were very fortunate to have received a one-time-funding grant of $3000 from the City of Ottawa, a commitment of $300 from the Heron Park Community Association and donations from individuals totalling more than $600. Funding the program has taken more than a few hours of preparing proposals and organizing events, but as you can see, the results have been well worth the effort.
Given our success, we were more than happy to donate food and drink from the Wednesday Night Program to help raise funds during the Garage Sale on May 9. We set up tables outside the Community Centre the morning of the sale. Proceeds from selling HPCA memberships, hotdogs, coffee and juice boxes were donated to the HPCA and its Play Structure Fund. We raised more than $80–in spite of the torrential rain that started after 10:30 a.m. A huge thanks to Nick Boucher, Justin Leblanc, and John and Matt Jannack who helped out on the day of the sale.
The following people have been integral to the continued success of the Wednesday Night Program: Bing Dang, John and Diane MacFarlane, Ricardo Roa, and Nadine Umugiraneza. Their participation has ensured that we have been able to maintain a minimum of 3 adults for supervision. Many hands have made for light work. Now, if only the kids and teens would start helping out without being asked to!
Of course, it goes without saying that without the continued participation of kids, teens and parents from the neighbourhood, there wouldn’t be a Wednesday Night Program. Thanks to all of you, we have one year under our belts and we look forward to many more.
See you in the park on Wednesdays between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m!
Colin MacLean
Web Site Updates
The site has gone through a bit of a change. It will now be easier to post the kind of information we need to, and it will be easier to get community members posting information. If you want to be able to add news and events to the site, please email Derek at siteadmin@heronpark.ca.
The forum is gone for the moment. The old one will be replaced with a better one soon. Unfortunately, you’ll probably need to register for the forum separately from the main website.
If you have any questions, email Derek at siteadmin@heronpark.ca, or leave a comment below.
MacMillan’s Food Order Playstructure Fundraiser
June 9th is the final day to get your orders in for MacMillan’s Cookie Dough and Muffin Batter, Gourmet Desserts, Gourmet Pizzas, Stix and Dips, Peanut-Free line and Meats for your barbecue.
Order Form [Excel Spreadsheet]
Send your order form to Maritala Robinson (613) 316-3979
Volunteers Needed For BBQ Raffle
Canadian Tire has donated a barbeque for Heron Park to raffle off in order to raise money for the Playstructure Fund.
We need people to sell tickets at the Canadian Tire on Heron Road on Saturday, June 13, Sunday June 14, Saturday June 20, and Sunday June 21.
To sign up, please use this signup form.
If you have any trouble with the form, please contact Maritala at (613) 316-3979 or Leo to volunteer.
Heron Park Garage Sale
Heron Park Garage Sale
