April - July 2010

Holy Family Parish Now Has Website
The Holy Family church in Two-Mountains now can boast a website of their own and joins other local churches in using the internet to pass on their messages and calendar of events. Their website can be accessed through this link. As a public service, my calendar now contains links to website from churches and local organizations. Simply click on the calendar icon on the left and the links will show up on the bottom of the monthly page. If you have a community oriented website, I will be happy to include it for you.

Free Copy of Lil's Way
You probably remember that Colleen Baxter Sullivan's first published work, Lil's Way came out in paperback form last December. The book is available through Amazon.ca at this link but Colleen has informed me that her in last order of 20 books, 21 were actually shipped. She is offering one of my readers this free copy of her book. I will award it to the first person who e-mails me with the following answer to the following question: Lil suffers of what disorder? Thanks Colleen, I will let you know who has won. Congratulations to Anik Perrault  who correctly 'diagnosed' Lil with Disassociative Identity Disorder (DID). You can visit Colleen's website by clicking here.

Legion 185 Softball Team Wins Morin-Heights Canoe Trip Tournament
For the second consecutive year, the Two-Mountains Legion Softball team has gone undefeated in the Annual Canoe Trip Softball Tournament hosted by Morin Heights Legion Branch 171. With 4 teams competing, including the Lac Barron and Comforts Bar teams, Branch 185 beat Legion 171 6 to 3. They then blanked Comforts Bar 2 zip and they won the nail biter final game of 2 to  1 against Lac Barron. The final run was batted in by Lou with 2 out in the bottom of the last inning. Click here for all the pictures. More pictures from Chris Beames of Morin-Heights have been recently added. Thanks Chris.

30th Annual Deux-Montagnes Golf Tourney Cut Short by Storm
On Friday July 9th, the rain was a major player in the city's 30th annual golf tournament at the Deux-Montagnes golf course. The weather held out for 2 hours after the 11am shotgun start, but the heavens opened up for almost an hour, drenching the course. Amazingly when it stopped, the greens were completely drained and play resumed at 2pm only to be stopped for good around 4 when lightning was getting too close for comfort. It was a good day nevertheless and as usual the buffet style supper was a big hit once again. Although no foursomes actually played the entire 18 holes, the foursome of Ron Kesseler, Mike McKeown, Mike O'Neil and myself managed to score a -6 after 13 holes which ended up being the lowest score. A big thanks to the volunteers at the 'competition' holes for braving the elements and staying on the course throughout the day, some even being stranded on the course when everyone had finished playing. Click here more a few more pictures.  
Mayor Marc Lauzon presents the trophy to Mike O'Neil, Mike McKeown, Ron Kesseler and Paul Goyetche

2nd Annual Heritage Club Golf Tournament
On Saturday July 31st, the Heritage Club is holding it's 2nd annual golf tournament at the St Andrew's Golf Course (not the one in Scotland). The cost of the tournament is $80 which includes cart and a steak supper back at the Heritage Club on Cedar avenue. If you would like to attend the supper only, that will cost you a mere $15. The steak supper and all the fixings will be prepared by Gary Mitchell. There are lots of great prizes too. Bobby Fordham is organizing this year's event again. To register, you can contact  Bob at (450) 974-2179, he will be happy to hear from you.

Tartan Pub's 'Official' Opening Lobster Supper
Although the Tartan Pub opened its doors in May, the official opening was postponed until everything was just right. With the current heat wave upon us, everything is now just right as the air conditioning is now fully functional. On Friday July 16th, a lobster supper will be held around 6pm. It will be followed at 10 by the regular Friday night Karaoke. Don't forget that the Tartan has also been World Cup Soccer headquarters and the final game on Sunday July 11th should be a hot one in a cool environment. Visit the Tartan's web site at www.pubtartan.com.

3rd Annual Carla and Rick Hoger's Pedal for the Cure
In 2006, Carla Hoger was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes having just completed university. Two years ago, Carla decided to do something about awareness and raising funds to try and cure this disease. She decided to start a one day bike ride from Ottawa to Two Mountains and get sponsored to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes. Her father Rick decided to go along for the ride too. On July 23rd this year they will do it again and this time you can join them for all or part of the trip. All the details are here. Please help fight this disease which can be beaten. 

Record Low Water Levels and What They Are Doing About It
As many of you have noticed, the water levels of the Lake (of Two Mountains), but more noticeable, the Milles-Iles River are at an alarming low level and have been since early spring. The dry spring and the lack of snow over the winter both contributed to this. Some of you may have noticed the island behind the St-Eustache church has actually been a peninsula since early May. The Quebec government is trying to do something about the river by dredging the rapids under the train bridge. The reason is that most of the water (up to 83%) from the lake is draining into the Riviere des Prairies at Laval-sur-le-lac. Kevin Deschamps forwarded me a link that explains (in English). Here is the government link. Here are some pictures I took On July 7th to show the water levels.

Leighann Dufault's Zumba Class Response To Shakira's Waka Waka on YouTube

Canada Day and PGA Champions tour pictures
Yesterday was a busy day as we started with a visit to Fontainebleau golf course for the Champions PGA Tour Pro-am and continued with the Two Mountains Canada Day celebrations. Pictures of the Seniors' Tour here and Canada Day here.

Old Two Mo Sports Team Pictures
I am not sure you noticed a new album on my Phanfare but it contains a few pictures from the 60's and 70's of some sports team. The first section contains pictures from the Bob Normoyle Scrapbook. Some have the identification of the players on them while others are still to be identified. The link for the album is here.

10th Annual Drive for the Cure Raises a Record Amount of Money
Danny Klimas' Golf Tournament at the Fontainebleau golf course was a resounding success on Tuesday June 22nd. Not only was it perfect weather, but the day set a new high for its fundraising to find a cure for Cancer Research at the Royal Vic Hospital. This year, the participation was so high that some people had to play at Ilesmere Golf course and then make their way to Fontainebleau for the dinner and prizes. Everyone had a good time and the course was in perfect condition and ready to host Fred Couples and the Champions Tour next week. The final dollars raised has not been calculated exactly yet, but Danny assures me that it will surpass $35,000 which is $7,000 more than last year's event. Here is a link to some pictures I took while enjoying another great day on a great course. Remember next year, if you want to participate, register early as it will be another sellout for sure.

Hope You Didn't Miss Me Too Much
You probably noticed that the there haven't been many updates on my site in the last few days. You may also have noticed that I changed my entry screen which is no longer the LTMHS Reunion of last May. My new entry screen is a picture I took at the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Actually they are 1,000 kilometers off the shore of Ecuador. Regardless, we just got back from there as we had a trip of a lifetime on a small ship called the Celebrity Xpedition. I didn't have much access to the internet during this time, so my website was a cobweb site for a little while. I am now back and will be updating this site as well as my trip log that I compiled (off-line) while on the trip. We took over 3000 pictures and videos and many of the better ones will appear in my photo albums. This is the link to the trip or, as always, you can click on the globe (earth) in 2MOPaul.com on top to see our past voyages.

Relay For Life a Success Once Again
For 12 hours starting on Friday June 4th at 7:00pm, many people were walking around the LTM parking lot in a Relay for Life and raising funds to fight cancer. A record amount of money was raised, over $150,000. Colin Ryan has sent me some photos of the event. They can be viewed here.

Two Days of Valuable Input
The Citizens' Summit was a beaming success and when all was said and done almost 600 had had a chance at steering Two-Mountains in the proper direction. The final count of attendees was 385 during the French session and 185 for the English sessions. The evening began with a 45 minute presentation during which the city general manager, Nicolas Bouchard, gave a brief history of our town as well as where we stand right now. More importantly, the presentation gave a picture of the money the city will have to spend in the following years and the fact that the tax base to get this money is not increasing in concert with the expenses. Eight workshops on various were conducted and many people provided some valuable input and ideas. In short, the people wanted to prioritize the work to be done. There is also a need to make Two-Mountains more attractive to visit in order to bring money from outside. Many people pointed out that we do not use our greatest asset, our waterfront, to attract people to our town. It was very enlightening to see that so many care about our community and were not there just to complain. Mayor Marc Lauzon was very pleased with the outcome of both evenings and many people will be working over the summer to compile all the comments. By September, this exercise will be complete and the residents will be presented a global plan. Thanks to all that participated and cared enough to use their time in order to mould the future of the city.

The Citizens' Summit Wants YOUR Input - This Wednesday for the English Community
Amost 400 citizens showed up for the French version on June 1st. Let's make sure that they hear the English Community also TONIGHT.
As you may be aware, Two-Mountains is at an important crossroad. There is a limited amount of resources ($$$) and many projects that should be untaken and some that should not. The Citizen's Summit at the Olympia Arena is where your voice can be heard in order to steer the future of this city in the right directions. This is your chance to have your opinions heard as well as hear others. The summit will comprise of 8 workshops of various subjects. Wednesday June 2nd, the proceedings will be entirely in English, so there is no excuse not to attend because of language. The English community needs to be heard and our numbers have to show that we care for our town. Click on the poster below for all the details of the workshops.

Another 'Challenge' Facing Two Mountains

Actually this challenge is more fun. For the 4th time in as many years, the annual Défi Deux Montagnes will be held again on Sunday June 13th. The event starts at Central park and makes its way through the streets of Two-Mountains. Race distances include a 1km, 2km, 5km and 10 km run and a 5km walk.

It all starts at 8 am and finishes around noon. Registration can be done online by visiting the Club Ventus Website at www.ventusdxm.org . This year's honorary president is Two-Mountains' own mogul skier Mikaël Kingsbury.
 

LTM Class of 73 DVD Finally Released
To coincide with LTM 2010, the DVD from the 1998, 25 year Reunion of the class of 73 was finally released. There is a long list of reason (excuses) why this was so long in the making. Although the original tapes recorded by myself and Earl Arguin, it wasn't until March 2003 when I bought my first PC that I started doing video editing. Back then, it was a painful process as the software was too demanding for the PC, even though that first PC cost over $3,500 to get enough juice for that type of work. Many a blue screen later, I updated the software and finally gave in and bought a PC at 1/8th the price and 8 times the power. Along the way, I also burned out a hard drive that had the almost completed version. The 2010 reunion and persistent inquiries about the video from Kevin Deschamps inspired me to finally get it done. So last week, I put the finishing touches on it and the result is a 60 minute montage of the events of 1998. It is now available for sale. All proceeds will go to me to cover the following costs: Upgrades to software and hardware, material costs, shipping and handling and the years of physiological therapy to get to the root of my procrastination. Of course, you realize that I never got around to do the therapy. Click here to order yours NOW, not in 2 years when you get around to it. If you need a round tuit, click here. The first review of the final cut: "Well worth the wait". Click here for a short preview of the DVD.

Liz Schofield Gets Hole-in-one at the LTM Reunion Golf Tournament
On the most difficult par 3 of the Deux-Montagnes Golf Course, Liz sailed her shot 152 yards right in the hole on the par 3 14th hole. For a montage of the shot click on the picture oon the left. Congrats Liz.

The LTMHS Reunion 2010 Has Arrived
For those of you who are not lucky enough to have made it to 2 Mo for the big reunion, stay tuned to 2mopaul for all the latest pictures. The first pictures should show up around 4pm on Friday from the golf outing and around 11pm from the meet and greet. Most pictures may not have captions, so you will have to figure out who you are looking at. Click here for the pictures.

Moose In Two Mountains
On Monday May 17th, a moose somehow made it's way to Guy and 19th avenue. How it got that far in to town is a mystery. It was tranquilized and I assume taken to a better place than where it is was found. Thanks to Bill C for sending me these pictures. According to the North Shore News, it was found in someone's pool (on Cool street) and returned to the wild somewhere near Morin Heights. Didn't anyone see it before it got stuck in the pool?

Community Forum A Big Hit
The Community Forum organized by the CEDEC (LLL) was a resounding success with over 75 people attending to provide input. Lots of great ideas were put forward to promote the area's Arts, Culture and Tourism (ACT). Along with the discussions, a few presentations were made including the history of the Santa Claus Parade in Two Mountains and description of a quilt project which was coordinated by Lisa Agombar. This project was intergenerational where 5 students interviewed a few 'senior' citizens of the area and then produced a large quilt that pictorially depicted their subjects. Once the presentations were completed smaller groups formed and brainstormed on how we could promote our art, culture and heritage. This was the first attempt at such an endeavor and was well received and attended. Click here for pictures of the proceedings. 

Last Chance to Register for The LTMHS Reunion Golf Day
The deadline for registration for the Friday May 21st Golf Day is this Wednesday May 12. Come join the gang at the Deux-Montagnes Golf course. Among the confirmed player's are brothers Phil and Ian Roberts, Jim and Bob Walter, Ross and Dick Duran. You don't have to be an LTM graduate. Post round activities will be at the Tartan Pub before Friday Night's Meet and Greet at the old school. Tee-offs are from 9:30 to 10:30 on Friday morning. Drop me an e-mail to register.  

Walk for the Cure Fundraiser
On Sunday May 16th from 11am to 4pm, Ron and Joan Fitzmorris will be hosting a fundraiser to raise money for two nurses, Lee-Anne Hogan and Karen Williams. They are once again participating in the 2 day Walk for the Cure in August. There will be hot dogs, beer and wine for sale as well as a bake table (not the table but the stuff on it). There will also be a raffle with many great prizes. The address is 572 Des Monts in St-Eustache. Des Monts street would be the top 6th avenue if Two Mountains ever reclaimed land from its neighbour. Here is the map.

Community Forum - Saturday May 15th
The LLL CEDEC (Laval-Laurentides-Lanaudiere) is holding a community forum on Saturday May 15 at the Heritage Club (503 Cedar). The objective of this forum is to "promote arts, cultural and heritage events in the Lower Laurentians that can stimulate and increase business and tourism activity." They are looking for your input, so come share your ideas, passions and your experience. Click here for more information or call 450-472-3100 to let them know you are coming. The event goes from 9:00am to 1:00pm and lunch is included.

4 Korners News
Volunteers needed for friendly home visits to seniors, help to prepare a small meal or just for a cup of tea and a little visit, if you are interested please call or drop in to 4 korners. The offices are located on Oka road next to Poulet Doré.
On Thursday May 13th, 4 Korners will be hosting a Usborne children's book sale all day. Proceeds in books will go to the children's library.

Tartan Pub Opens in its New Location
Friday April 30th not only represents the last day to file your income tax return but also the doors open at the New Tartan Pub. Just in time for the Crosby kid and his Penguins to take on our High flying Habs. Come watch the game on one of the two 50 inch plasma screens or on the giant 120inch HD screen. See you there... Although this is not the 'official' opening the place is ready for action including tomorrow's Kentucky Derby.