Stop The Insanity - An Open Letter to Someone Who Works for the City of Two Mountains
I would like to know the process on which Stop signs are designated on our streets. Two years ago, for me to get to Oka road I had one stop to go through (full stop) at the corner of my street and boulevard du lac. Two years ago, someone came up with the idea that there should be a stop sign at Magnan street on 20th avenue. This stop made sense because travelling south on 20th, if you were fortunate enough to get a green light at Oka road, you could be travelling quite fast at Magnan where the speed limit is reduced to 30k/h. Then last September, they decided to put a stop sign when turning onto 20th from blvd du lac. This one was probably put in because the people going down 20th never looked west (or east for that matter) for oncoming traffic and there were a few close calls even though they had a stop to make. NOW, a new stop sign which is to be in place on September 14th, will be at the corner of one of the Belvedere intersections on 20th avenue. This one is really over the top and I am pointing out to the city since they might want to plan one for the second Belvedere intersection for 2013. Belvedere street is a very affluent crescent and I assume one of its residents must have enough clout to get this request approved and acted on. The problem with this stop sign is that there are less than 25 houses on this street and the little part of 24th avenue. That means that we are making hundreds of people who regularly use 20th avenue waste gas and time for what may be a dozen households. I say a dozen because I doubt that the people living on the southern part of Belvedere will go out of their way to access 20th at the stop sign.
Maybe the Southern Belvederians will request their own stop sign. There may be an ulterior motive in this insanity. There more stop signs you have, the more people will get fed up is actually doing the stops. Result: The $160 a pop donation to the policemen's ball or where ever that money goes. More demerit points which in turn makes your driver's license more expensive enhancing the provincial coffers. Add to that the extra gas that all of these insane stop signs are consuming, therefore helping the feds with more fuel taxes. So there you are, although there is a initial cost to the city of installing these red octagons everywhere in the end all 3 levels of government will benefit from our frustration. The above illustration shows that there were stop signs at these corners but the now they all but one be 3-way stops. Right now I can just feel my Calgary readers rejoice at their choice of moving to the land of the Yield.

Canada Captures 8th Wyder Cup Title
Team Canada holds on the the Wyder Cup for a fourth year in a row as they defeat Team USA 33½ to 21½ at the Maplewood Golf Resort in Bethlehem New Hampshire. In what turned out to be a beautiful weekend as the rain threatened but held off for most of the two rounds on Friday and Saturday. Canada took the lead on Friday by taking 15 of the available 22 points. In Saturday's round, Canada took another 19½ points while USA grabbed 14½ points. On the Ladies side, the American women retained their cup. One of the highlights of the matches was team USA captain with a near hole-in-one on the par 18 hole with over 70 people surrounding the green. He tapped in the birdie to halve his man on man match with team Canada captain, yours truly. Next year's Wyder Cup (12th edition) has already been booked for August 16th and 17th at the Maplewood golf club. Some pictures are posted here as well as the 10th Anniversary video I made for the banquet.

Registration for Two Mountains Fall Library Programs Starts Today
The Two Mountains library is offering a plethora of fall programs and workshops for young and 'old'. One of these programs is moderated by author Colleen Baxter Sullivan and is called the Reading Loop. It's an English workshop that will be on the first Wednesday of the month, from September to June, from 10 to 11 a.m. The program description is: "Each month we will share ideas, and voice our opinions regarding favourite books and authors. We will compare different writing styles and exchange our personal views regarding theses comparisons. Your opinion is valued. This will be a great learning experience for all those who love to read, and all those who might want to take up reading."
It is targeted for adults with a maximum of 20 participants and is free for library members and $5 for non-members. I believe membership is free for Two Mountains citizens. Many of your tax dollars go to funding the library so you should take advantage of their services. To learn more, check the calendar of the library's activities by clicking here.

Click here for pictures of the Heritage Social Club Golf Tournament

Bruce Thornton 1930-2012
Obituary from the Montreal Gazette
James Bruce Thorton of Deux Montagnes passed away on July 24, 2012 at the age of 81 at the St. Eustache hospital from complications of diabetes. beloved husband of 63 years to Phyllis (Messett) Thornton, brother to Lorna Goyer Thornton and father of three daughters: Elaine (spouse Dan) DeBlock, Gail Ann (spouse Gene) Bourgeois, and Karen Thornton (spouse John Samson) poppa to Luke (Carolyn), Kim (Scott), Jeremy (Yuka), Roxanne (Clint), Cher (Trevor) and Sandi (Luke). Great-poppa to Bodhi, Kai, Sequoia, Jesse, Laura, Maeve and Graeme. Bruce will be sadly missed by all his relatives, friends, and brothers of the Knights of Columbus and the Royal Canadian Legion. The funeral mass honouring his memory will be held on Saturday, July 28th, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. in Holy Family parish located at 1001 Oka road, Deux-Montagnes, PQ, followed by a reception in the church hall. God bless him and rest his soul. To view his online obituary and guest book please click here.

10th Annual Santa Claus Parade Golf Tournament
With only 5 months until Christmas and more importantly less than 2 months until Santa Claus Parade's fundraising golf tournament on Thursday September 20th. It will be taking place at the Lachute golf course with a shotgun start at 11am.
All the profits will be given to the committee of the Santa Claus parade of Deux-Montagnes to help them present the 43rd Santa Claus parade on December 2nd, 2012.They would like to surpass the 10,000$ raised last year due to the implication of local businesswomen and businessmen and also citizens who are community minded. Playing is not the only way to help as they also offer an array of advertising media & promotions. Gifts are also welcomed. The presentation of the parade would not be possible without the funds amassed and generated by the golf tournament. It is with this joint effort that they will be able to present to the thousands of children the 42rd parade on the streets of Two-Mountains and brighten up the eyes of the little ones of all ages. You can register online or get more info at this link.

Karaoke - 8 Days A Week or Almost, At Chez Gaétane Bar
Chez Gaétane's Karaoke bar at the corner of 8th avenue and Oka road is starting new hours as of today July 25th. They will be open from noon every day and will feature Karaoke every night. Wednesday is open mike/jam night with their house band ' Les Surfers'. They now also have video lottery machines. It's 'come as you are' and sing you hearts away. 

7th Annual Night of Painting - August 11, 2012 - Olympia Arena
Over 50 artists will be on hand to paint 12 by 12 foot works of art on the pavement at the Olympia Arena starting at 8pm until 1am. This year's theme is the carnival and there will be plenty of entertainment to get you in the spirit of the old-style carnival or street fair. There will also be 3 by 3 foot squares that will be allocated to anyone who feels artistic where the materials will be provided.
Perry Mandanici will be provide animation for the event. In the spirit of the carnival, Sonia La Lune will make a few appearances throughout the evening. The wiinners of the jeudi Show will also provide some of the entertainment. The 'Maison des Jeunes' will be operating a snack bar to help raise fund for their activities. You may also dust off your piggy banks full of pennies as volunteers from Habitat for Humanity will be there ready take them off your hands to raise funds.
The ephemeral works should all be complete by 1am and will remain there on Sunday so they can be appreciated and perhaps photographed in the full light of day. Click here for a list of participating artists and their pictures.

Congratulations to Ann and Jim Auger on Their Upcoming Golden Anniversary
On Tuesday July 31st, Ann and Jim Auger will be marking their 50th wedding anniversary. Last Thursday before the council meeting at city hall, they were honoured by the mayor where they received a beautiful bouquet of flowers and got to sign the city's golden book. Their 3 children and 7 grandchildren will be celebrating the event in an upcoming gathering. July 31st also marks a milestone for Ann who will be celebrating her 75th birthday. Congrats to you both and many more. Hmmm.. getting married on your spouse's birthday... great idea. You only have to remember one day each year. Well done Jim. 

The City of Two Mountains Hold Its 32nd Annual Golf Tournament
Today, Friday the 13th, is the 32nd edition of the Two Mountains Golf tournament. This tournament started in the early 80's at the Oka golf course. It has since moved to the Deux-Montagnes golf course and has had over 150 golfers in the past. I am not sure of the number today. This year there are 3 honorary co-presidents of the tournament; Dave Byers, Martin Hensen of the Lions Club and André Ouellet of Agape. The format is a foursome best ball also known as a Vegas or a scramble in the U.S. The team of Ron Kesseler, Mike McKeown, Mike O'Neil and myself will try to threepeat this year after scoring a -11 at last year's event. Of course, that will probably difficult as luck might not be on our side considering the date. Update: We did threepeat with a -10 by getting birdie on 7 of the last 8 holes.  Pictures are posted here.

Heritage Social Club's 4th Annual Golf Tournament
On Saturday July 28th, The HSC is putting on its annual golf tournament at St Andre Golf Course. It is a full day which includes breakfast at the course, 18 holes of golf with cart, supper back at the Heritage Club and prizes. The first tee-off is at 8:30am. The total cost is just $90. Space is running so click here to get all the information on how to register.

Hacked Email Accounts On The Rise
Below is an article I wrote one year ago when I was receiving e-mails from people I knew, yet they seemed like they didn't make sense. In the past week I have received 6 of those e-mails. I spoke to two of those people and they both told me that their passwords were their pet's name. Having a simple password makes it very easy for a hacker to guess it. Imagine if someone or something got into your e-mail and decided to delete all of your saved mail. It would be devastating for me as I use e-mail folders as filing systems. Since last year, I have made my passwords much harder to guess with a mix of letters, numbers and special characters. I suggest you do the same before it happens to you.

Bogus E-mails From People You Know (written in May 2011)
The following has happened to me 3 times in the last week and 6 times since the beginning of the year. I receive an e-mail from one of my regular contacts. Sometimes it's just a link to a website (usually selling meds) but the last one I got from someone I know stranded in Nigeria (many of you might have gotten this one). How can someone be sending e-mails using my account? you say. It is very easy as people are trying to hack into into e-mail systems all the time. Whether it is Hotmail, Yahoo or gmail (the most popular free e-mail sites) there are despicable people out there constantly trying to get into these systems. E-mail systems such as Videotron, Rogers or Sympatico are too specific for hackers and are usually left alone. There are robots (software robots not the kind from Lost In Space) that try different combinations of passwords and if they stumble upon your password, they will actually log in to your account, extract your full contact list, send an email to all your contacts and keep all your contact information for future e-mails. Of course, your security software on your PC cannot do anything about it because your PC doesn't even have to be on. When someone tells you that they received a strange e-mail from you, check your Sent folder, and there's 9 out of 10 chance that it will contain that e-mail. Of course, hackers will eventually think of erasing these entries, but what if they decided to delete your saved email folders. Bottom line is that your password was 'guessed' by something or someone and that passwords should never be easy and should never contain words. Take a look at the 500 most used (and worst password you could use in systems. I know people who have had one of these passwords on their account. You can also test the strength of a password by going to this Microsoft Safety and Security site here. Don't worry, your tests will not be transmitted. It's may be longer to type a more secure password, but the stronger it is, the better. I thought my passwords were pretty good but they all rated Weak or Medium on the chart. I will be changing those today.

Wyder Cup Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary
In only 5 weeks, the 11th edition of the Wyder Cup will be contested in Bethlehem, New Hampshire for the 4th time in as many years. The competition will be held on Friday August 10 and Saturday August 11. Team USA has beefed up its forces for this year's event. Team Canada on the other hand has had a couple of last minute cancellations. If you are interested in a fun weekend of golf and other goings on, drop me a line, this may the opportunity to join our team to fight in the 200th anniversary of the war of 1812. The competition is open to golfers of all abilities.

Saving The Little Yellow Schoolhouse
The Cultural Association of Deux-Montagnes (ACDM) and its honorary president of the cultural events of 2012, Mrs. Charlotte Lapointe invites art, culture and nature lovers to come to the first edition of the City of the Arts. This is an art event featuring over thirty artists from all disciplines to be held Saturday, July 14 and Sunday July 15, at Central Park. There will be on-site entertainment, clowns and raffles.
Schedule - Saturday, July 14
10:00 - Ceramics Workshop
13:30 - Percussion and African dances by Sultanosto
17:00 - 19:00 Performance of the winners of the 2012 singing competition, the jeudi show, Émilie Gilbert and Daniel Lortie, Marilyne Dubé, and Gabriel Lacombe
On Sunday, July 15
10:00 - Theatre Workshop by the Théâtre de la petite comédie
10:30 - Professional face painting for children
11:00 - Circus Workshop (by les Forains Abyssaux)
13:00 - Theatre Performance by the Théâtre de la petite comédie
14:30 - Zumba Fitness Session with Anaïs Thibodeau
15:00 - Folk and Jazz performance by Marie-Eve Lapierre and musician Erik Polidoro
Saving the Little Yellow Schoolhouse
Built in 1939 and recognized by the Municipality as a heritage building, the Little Yellow Schoolhouse was the first educational institution in French and English of the City of Two Mountains. The building now houses the many activities of the ACDM such as acting classes for kids, workshops and painting classes as well as various exhibitions of works of art.
This event is being organised by The ACDM, a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise money to assure the survival of the Little Yellow Schoolhouse, Repairs to the building such as replacing windows and fixing the roof are much needed. "This first  edition of the City of Arts is part of the fund raising effort "said the President of the MDC, Mr. Ronald St. Charles.

Canada Day Pictures
On Canada Day I had a previous engagement which prevented me from taking my usual pictures. We only made it back in time for the fireworks which were pretty good. As I mentioned before, last year's fireworks were featured on Discovery Channel's Pyros. That episode airs today (July 2nd) at 2pm. All episodes are airing today from 10am. Also, since I don't have any pictures of this year's Canada Day, you may like to share yours. If you want, you can use this link and drop off some of your better pictures for everyone to enjoy. Here are some pictures sent to me my Albert Allen. Thanks you Albert

Danny Klimas' Drive for the Cure Tournament Raises Over $35,000
On Thursday June 28th, 160 odd golfers set out on the Fontainbleau golf course in Blainville to have a little fun and raise money for Cancer research. At the end of the day, more than $35,000 was collected through various drawings and both silent and regular auctions. This was the 12th annual event and it has raised well over $200,000 since its debut with just 4 golfers back in 2001. This event would not be possible without Danny's perseverance and the volunteers who spend a long day coordinating all the activities around the course. This years tournament was sold out on March 17th, so if you want to make sure you are in next year's edition, you better respond as soon as you see the announcement on my website in early March. Here are a few pictures of the action on the course and at the dinner. Also congratulations to Brad Gleason on his one over par 73 at what has become his favourite course.

Canada Day 2012
I have heard a couple of people wonder when Two Mountains is having their Canada Day Festivities. Well, as in the past umpteen years, July 1st is the date for all the fun and the place is Central park. This year promises to be a good one with a lot of bands playing non-stop from just after the opening ceremonies at 13:00 and lots of activities for young and old. Of course there will be fireworks at 22:15. Last year's fireworks were featured on the Discovery Channel's Episode 5 of Pyros.  Click here for the official poster of Canada Day shows and click here for the full detailed schedule. There will be a horseshoe tournament sponsored by Legion 185 with registration starting at 13:00. Doubles will be first followed by singles.

Holy Family Parish Golf Tournament
The Holy Family Church held its annual golf tournament yesterday at the Oka Golf Club. It was a long day on the course but the weather was perfect and made it very enjoyable. The steak dinner at the hall followed and more than 100 people partook in the festivities. Thanks to the many sponsors and participants who donated gifts. The two main sponsors Giant Tiger and Loutec St-Eustache made it possible for the event to raise money for the church. The proceeds went to the Adoft-a-Window fund which now has only one window left to be sponsored. Pictures From John Dore are posted here along with a few of mine.

5th Annual Pedal for the Cure
Letter from Carla Hoger:
Well, summer has certainly arrived! I can feel the warm summer air outside and it just feels great to get out on the road to start training for the 5th Annual Pedal For The Cure. I cannot believe that it has been 5 years already that we have been doing our little fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, but not without a BIG amount raised by all of you (close to $8 500). I am most positive that we can reach our goal of raising $10 000 in total. Thank you, thank you, thank you once again.
This years bike ride will take place on Friday, July 6 with some great riders onboard for the adventure of a lifetime. It is an unbelievable experience that I cherish each year we set off from Ottawa to Montreal. We are starting to raise funds, so if you would like to donate, please send cash or cheque (made out to: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) to: Carla Hoger, 349-27th avenue, Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, J7R 4J8.
For for the full info on the ride click here. Please feel free to read it and become more familiar why exactly we are doing this ride in the first place, as I am sure most of you know.
Thank you once again for your continued support. We are always astonished by the amount of people that have supported us over the years. Merci mille fois! Carla Hoger
Her father, Rick, claims that this year is the last one he is doing, which is something he has said before but Carla has managed to persuade him up to now.

Meals On Wheels Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary

On Thursday June 21, the Two Mountains Meals on Wheels group marked their 40th year in operation with an appreciation luncheon for their volunteers past and present. Almost 100 people along with some dignitaries from the city and government attended this special lunch at the Casa Greque in St-Eustache. Meals on Wheels has been bringing great meals to our community's shut-ins and elderly population since 1972. Last year alone it served up 1,559 meals thanks to help from many volunteers. M.O.W. was given a prize in the last year for being the best run non-profit organization in the area. Everyone enjoyed the luncheon and thanks to everyone who put this event together. Click here for many more pictures of the luncheon.

A Busy Season Coming Up in Two Mountains Maintenance
Two Mountains Mayor Marc Lauzon and Martin Angers, director of the city's urban planning and technical services, gave an 'on-site' press conference on Wednesday June 20th to present the activity going on in the city over the next few months. They highlighted seven major projects that have started or will be untaken in the next weeks. Many revolve around the aging infrastructure and the price tag for these projects is around $8.5 million of which more than $4.2 will come from government grants. The one closest to my heart, actually right on my street, is the revamping of the drinking water pipes that is currently going on. The aim is to reline the existing pipes which are approximately 50 years old with a sleeve of fibreglass and resin. On display at the press conference was a same of an old pipe with some 50 years of accumulated rust. I have put together a slide show of some pictures of these pipes and work being done. Click here to see it. By August, 6 kilometres of the older cast iron pipes will have been relined and the drinking water quality will improve significantly. The other problem this will solve is that, like in many other cities with aging infrastructure, the amount of loss of water in these pipes is estimated at 30%. This means thousands of gallons of filtrated water is wasted every day through leaks and seepage. The city has 50 kilometres of these types of pipes which will eventually have to be replaced of relined. The relining is a complex process that involves robots, cameras and excavating large holes, usually at intersections, in order to access the pipes.
Another important and costly project is the construction of an equalization basin behind the Larry Cool pumping station. This $3.2 million project is required by Environment Quebec as our current rain water drainage system produces waste water spillage directly into the Lake of Tow Mountains. The this basin is a large (mostly underground) holding tank of 200 by 100 feet with a depth of 20 feet (if my memory serves me right). That work starts in early July and is due to end in October. Click here for a complete list of the seven projects for 2012.   

Legion 185 Memorial Deck Now Officially Open
On Saturday June 9th, the Legion held a supper for the dedication and opening of their new deck. The plaque was unveiled and the ribbon was cut by Val Woods and Danny Klimas with Mayor Marc Lauzon and Legion president Dan Dionne at their side. The steak dinner was attended by well over 100 people and everyone enjoyed a great meal and had a great time. The weather also cooperated for the event. For many pictures of the evening, please click here.

Lions Club Hot Dog Days June 14-15-16-17
We are having our Hot Dog festival once again on the IGA parking lot corner 8th avenue and Chemin Oka.
We will be serving our Famous Hot Dogs with all the fixings from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and we are looking for your support. The funds raised with this activity are ploughed back into the community and enable us to continue to serve the people that need our help.

Back From Scandinavia
You may have noticed there hasn't been much action on my website in the last few weeks. As you can see in the first picture, we were away on an escape in Denmark, Sweden and mostly Norway. The picture is on a rock called Prekeistolen (or Pulpit Rock in English). It is in Norway in a fjord called Lysefjord. The drop (straight down) from where I am standing (and where Myrna is standing in the picture below) is over 600 meters high or 1900 feet. I didn't get as close to edge as some people do but close enough for me. It takes about 2 hours to get to that point so the legs aren't in great shape after the climb. The view was breathtaking and nobody fell off while we were there. We kept a log and pictures of the trip in case you are interested you can access by pressing the globe above in 2mopaul.com.

 

Two Mountains Horticulture Day a Huge Success
On Saturday May 26th, the 7th annual Horticulture Day saw over 4000 citizens pick up their flowers, plants and compost. Over 5000 flats were handed out as well as over 1000 bags of compost. The sale of compost barrel as well as rainwater recuperators went well as all were sold out. Mayor Marc Lauzon stated that so many flowers are sure to spruce up our town.

There was also a lesser known program where one could bring in any surplus perennials, seeds or other plants that had no room in their own gardens. They could trade these with others with the same 'problem'.

The entire day was made possible by the City of Two Mountains, the Scouts, members of the Lions' Club and the Maison des Jeunes.

 

18th Avenue Drama in Two-Mountains
A woman of 55 who showed signs of violence was taken to hospital Sunday afternoon, where her death was confirmed. The spouse, a 46 year old that was on the scene was arrested.
The police visited the home of 18th Avenue to Two Mountains following an emergency call placed by a family member.
Upon arrival at the scene, police found that the husband of the lady, a man aged 46, had traces of blood. He was arrested but taken to hospital.
"The police found that the man was not in a normal state. There were fears for his health. Transportation to hospital was necessary to seek medical attention, "said Christopher Harding Police Service of Two Mountains.
Investigators are still there to try to reconstruct the chain of events. You might recognize the couple in the picture from the TVA website. Click here to see the original article click here. I don't think the couple in the picture was involved in a matter. Click here a few pictures taken by my roving reporter, Casey Rose.