Merry Christmas Allison Park Residents

Ho-Ho-Ho, Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope that Santa has been good to everyone and that there where not to many lumps of coal in your stockings this morning!

If you have kids, I hope you got some great pictures of them opening up there presents, its great to see their little smiles and amazement when they open their presents isn’t it!

Christmas is all about giving, let’s not forget that, if you have not done something for the less fortunate, it’s not too late, drop some money into a kettle at the mall for the Sally Ann, drop some bags of groceries off at the food bank, or give generously to your staff or neighbours.

And speaking of neighbours, I challenge everyone right now to pick up the phone or knock on their doors, and wish them a Merry Christmas. If you don’t get along with your neighbour, today is a “ truce” day, be the bigger person and go by, knock on their door, extend your hand and wish them a Merry Christmas, go on, you can do it!

http://www.allisonpark.org

Christmas Light Decorating Contest in Allison Park

Just a reminder to everyone that my Annual Christmas light and house decorating contest is underway and the final judging will be on Christmas Eve.

Lets just say that a judge has already told me that there will be some new winners this year :)

New this year will be how also the interior of the house looks in relation to its effect from the outside also, and the overall theme of everything.

So, make sure that you have all your lights on also, some common ( whoops we forgot) items are that people are away at a relatives and forget to turn them on, and also forget to turn on all the display lights.

http://www.allisonpark.org

Allison Park Christmas Party

Once again we had an incredible time at our annual Allison Park Childrens Christmas Party which I was proud of hosting and organizing.

This year even with the storm of the century bearing down on us, we had a record turn-out with over 200 people showing up and having a lot of fun.

This year I pulled out all the stops, we had face painting, The huge 45 foot Chuggy Choo-Choo was there, we also had animal stuffing, and t shirt painting, a live puppet show, Hot Dogs, Cookies, and of course Santa Claus himself showed up with a sack of toys, every child received a new toy.

Many thanks for Councilor Scott Duvall coming out also.

Also many thanks for the " Oskeewheeler" for coming out. The oskeewheeler is the name of the Hamilton Tiger Cats Bus.

Christmas House Decorating Winners at Allison Park

I will soon be posting the winners from last years contest, so stay tuned for this!!

Also just a reminder that the " official" lights on is the usual December 1 at 5 p.m.

Each year I sponsor and organize a fun contest, and prizes are awarded for 1st to 5th place.

This year the winners where 2 new people details to follow!!

http://www.allisonpark.org

No Parking Signs going up around Allison Park

I just got a call from Councilor Scott Duvall whom is our representative at City Hall for us being in Ward 7.

He regrets to inform me that due to an on-going neighbourhood dispute, that " No-Parking" signs will be going up around Allison Park.

These signs will make it illegal to park Monday to Saturday from approx 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Be sure to check the signs for the exact times and dates when they go up.

The unfortunate thing is that nothing can be done to stop this.

The signs will start to go up with a 1 -2 week period, so be forewarned so that you dont get a ticket.

http://www.allisonpark.org

More meetings at City Hall

Last night I spent a further 3 hours at City Hall going over different projects,ideas and problem solving surrounding various things in the City.

One of our topics was graffiti, which I have discussed before and what we can do about it.

One of the attendees made me aware of a product that can remove the offending marking, and I am going to acquire some of it to remove the writings on our mailboxes.

http://www.allisonpark.org

Allison Park the Jewel of Hamilton

5 hours of meetings, 1 breakfast, 1 lunch and we still did not finish.

Yes that is how I spent a majority of my time yesterday, at City Hall going over many of the different programs in the City.

Needless to say the City is using Allison Park as the " example" and poster child for others to follow, some exciting things are coming up, and I will fill you all in later.

http://www.allisonpark.org

Halloween Decorating House winners

The judges deliberated for a lonnnnggggg time this year, it was a tough one, but the results are finally in, and will be posted shortly!!

There where some especially scary houses this year!!!

http://www.allisonpark.org

Volunteer Hours for school available at Allison Park

Parents for a few years now I have signing childrens volunteer hour forms for their 40 hour mandatory school hours that they need.

Just to remind you that this is available, however if your child wants to volunteer, and says they will show up to volunteer at a event, please make sure they show up!

Many thanks!

www.allisonpark.org

Devils Night

What started as just my normal drive through the neighbourhood to start to see the halloween displays turned into a 4 hour vigil and clean up patrol as it being devils night and kids being kids, there was some damage done to peoples houses and cars in our area.

A group of 12 youths where up to no good, but they where taken care of, but then a car with youths and a paint-ball gun made there way through our area spraying houses and vehicles.

So, armed with paper towels and a water bottle myself and a few neighbours made our way around the area looking for damage, cleaning peoples cars before the paint dried and knocking on doors informing them of what happened.

I have a feeling that there might be some youths in the area whom know the people involved, as in anything else, if you can convince your children to give up what they know, please pass it along to me, or if you witnessed the vehicle in question or got a plate number pass it along to myself.

Sun Shelter Update for Allison Park

I met with City Staff this week and one of the items we discussed was the sun shelter.

The tendering process will start soon, so most likely the shelter will be installed next year as winter is fast approaching.

Splash Pad Now Fixed at Allison Park

Extra bubble gum was ordered and the leak has now been fixed, many many thanks to all the City Staff for getting our splashpad fixed so fast, it sure has been hot lately, and the little ones enjoyed using it, pretty soon the days are getting shorter, the nights colder, and winter is on the way.

So from all the smiles on the faces of the children in the park today, I would say that they where very happy!!!

A special thanks to Steve and Chris from the City :)

Oskee-Wee-Wee

Hope to see you all at the game tomorrow!

Splash Pad Closed For Maintenance

She sprung a leak the other day, and we did not have enough bubble gum to stop the leak.

Even after getting all the kids together and amassing all types of bubble gum we still did not have enough!

City Staff will be ordering parts and getting it fixed a.s.a.p.

Hope to see everyone at the game tommorow,

OSKEE-WEE-WEE !!!!

Chris Ecklund the Garbage Man

3 bags of Garbage.

That is what I collected yesterday while out and about.

1 entire bag on the fenceline alone. This " windbreak" at times is so full of garbage I have had to get City crews to come out and collect it all, that is usually on a Thursday preceded by a wednesday night wind storm!

Oh well, better against the fence than throughout the City.

Parents, you can help, if you give your kids a bottle of water to head to the park, ask them to bring the empty back to recycle it!

A few neighbours also complained about kids breaking bottles in the park, and that they also went to clean the broken glass up afterwards. First off, thankyou for cleaning up, it is dangerous to have broken glass lying around in the swing sets. If anyone sees anything happening there at night, please let me know and I will look into it.

And speaking of Garbage, dont forget it was a holiday last weekend, hence 1 day late in getting our garbage picked up.

Ti Cats Win

Wow, what a game and what a night!!

Last night I had a great time along with over 24,000 fans with cheering on the Cats to their first win of the year!!

After Jesse Lumsden scored a touchdown I went to congratulate his Dad Neil, who is an old and dear friend, but he was live on the air so I never really did get to say hello, we just used sign language!

And also a Happy birthday also to Jesse, Happy 25th!, you got a long career with the Cats ahead of you!

It was a very enjoyable night, I was wandering all over the stadium, up with Bob Young in his box for awhile, down on the second floor for awhile, talked to the press, and spent some time with Ellison Kelly former Ti Cat great, and father of childhood friend Jerry, and also had a few long talks with Ti-Cat great Angela Mosca in the Hall of Fame club.

I also ran into John Dolbec from the Chamber who brought out his son to enjoy the game, and also Terry Anderson and his wife, Terry is the former alderman for Ward 7 and currently running for the Conservatives in the upcoming Federal Election.

Down on the field all the front office staff was in good spirits, and I almost got taken out by a tackle on the sidelines!!!A laptop suffered the brunt of it :(

Down in the west end zones I spent some time in the tents, a great spot by the way and some are still available for rent!Ran into some friends old and new, some neighbours also, and even my mother and father in law, and other members of the family!I even got my picture taken with the Grey Cup, last time I touched it, I was helping to polish it!

Funds raised during Canada Day in Allison Park

This year we raised $ 754.00 during our annual Canada Day event.

This was through the sale of hot dogs,pop and t-shirts.

All goods sold at our event where donated by Mr.Ecklund.

www.allisonpark.org

We made the news again

Well we made the front page again folks, here is a picture that appeared in the Hamilton Mountain news this week

http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/hmn/news/news_827776.html

Here is also a second picture that was inside the paper

http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/hmn/news/news_827944.html

Snap Hamilton covers Allison Park

Snap Hamilton a long time supporter of my events held in Allison Park, was a HUGE supporter of the first ever " Yard Sale for the Cure" yard sale event to raise money in aid of Breast cancer research.

Company President/CEO Mr. Kevin Foster deserves a big thank-you from all of us to make our first ever Yard Sale a successful event. As a person who is involved and covered extensively by the media, I can tell you that it is a rare event that a reporter/owner will get involved as much in a project that Kevin Foster has.

Kevin and I had several meetings about the event before hand to work out the details. Thanks again Kevin for all your hard work!

I met with Kevin today and he handed me a few papers. If anyone would like one please let me know. Locally you can also pick them up at Fortinos on Rymal and Upper James.

Here are some web links that you can go to to see the issues on-line.

They may take awhile to load as there are a lot of pictures.
http://www.snaphamiltonmountain.com/display/11777/169/

Article reprinted from Hamilton Mountain News

Plenty to celebrate at Allison Park on Canada Day
Kevin Werner, Mountain

(Jun 29, 2007)
For about seven years the Allison Park community has waited in anticipation for their annual Canada Day celebrations in what has become a high point of the year for the community.
But this year's Canada Day festivities could be the last one held in their newly restored community park.
"I will leave it up to the community," said resident Chris Ecklund, who has organized and paid for the Canada Day activities, along with upgrading the park. "I don't know if it will be the last one. People believe it may be and there is the expectation the crowds will be huge this year."
Mr. Ecklund, a local business owner, moved to the Allison Park area, located at the corner of Upper Wellington and Rymal Road in 1999. He surveyed the neighbourhood and asked if he was going to simply fade in the background and live quietly in the community or get involved and continue his philanthropic work.
His dilemma didn't last long.
Soon after he spearheaded a drive to redevelop Allison Park. This week the city will take ownership of the newly installed splash pad that has been in the planning stages for a few years.
www.hamiltonmountainnews.com
Mr. Ecklund has also sponsored annual Halloween and Christmas events in the 300-home community; organized a golf tournament and treated his neighbours to Canada's Wonderland. This year he is concentrating only on the Canada Day celebrations - but without the fireworks.
He will spend about $10,000 on this year's Canada Day event.
"A few years ago we stopped counting at $100,000," he said. "It's about the community. It's about the kids. To see a smile on a child's face is thanks enough."
Even without the fireworks, the festivities, which begin at noon and continue to 4 p.m. will include five inflatable jungle gyms, clowns, balloon twisters, face painters, hula hoops, a barbecue ready to grill about 500 hot dogs to feed the estimated 300 people expected to turn out. A Canada Day cake will be cut, not only celebrating Canada's 140th birthday but also the opening of the splash pad.
The city will also be on site with a fire truck, emergency service personnel, and the Hamilton Police Service bug.
Even though Mr. Ecklund is talking about pulling the plug on the event, he has spoken to city staff about adding to the park. He is encouraging the city to construct an entrance at the intersection of Upper Wellington and Rymal Road that identifies Allison Park. As well, residents have talked about building a hockey rink for the community's use at the park.
Mr. Ecklund is reluctant to talk about the reason for contemplating ending the annual tradition, saying only over the last few months some people have become disruptive within the community.
"It's disheartening when you have a bad apple spreading their lies," he said. "It affects community, and provokes fear."
Mr. Ecklund has contacted the Hamilton Police Service about a number of incidents that have occurred.
Meanwhile, the event is free to anyone in the city to have a piece of cake and soak up some community spirit, he said.
"This is a huge, huge day for us as a community," said Mr. Ecklund. "This completes the master plan that was started seven years ago.
"I love the neighbourhood," he added. "I'm very proud of what has been accomplished." For more information about the July 1 event, log on to www.allisonpark.org.