THANK YOU!

So, with 66.8% of the vote, looks like I’m back for the next 4 years.

I’ve already contacted my opponent in this race and asked to meet with him to discuss any short falls he may have recognized so I can be a better servant to all the people of Ward 5. He ran a good race and as he’s shown he cares about the community, I’d like to hear his thoughts on how we can make it better.

It’s taken me so long to write a thank you blog because I’ve been working on issues that people brought up as I’d been door to door, helping with new issues, getting back to normal life and, yes, contributing at the Haunted Circus at my Daughter’s school — wearing a scary bunny costume and breaking down the big top after it was finished.

So now that I’m back to regular life — working in my kitchen, I’m getting back some time to thank those who really helped out.

Even in a digital age, printed materials are paramount, so I’d like to thank my photographer Doxa, my editor and general wordsmith, Sue and my designer Big Daddy for putting together two great pieces for me. Working through my 20s and 30s in advertising, peaking early as a Creative Director for a major ad house in Ottawa, I could recognize talent. These three are more than worth what they charge right now so you should get in on the ground floor before they become more important and charge what they deserve (Click their names for links to their sites, btw).

Then there’s my Magnificent Seven: Bonnie, Tina, Doxa, Robyn, Julie, Tamara and, oh yes, the wife, Tracy. They’re on twitter, and I’ll reveal their accounts if they say it’s okay, but if you’re reading this you likely know them.

In Municipal — local– politics, there is no (in my case at least) political party, no political leader, no shield from anything negative. So I won’t lie, there were moments I questioned myself; times I asked if I did enough. But from the first meeting these seven reminded me that it was about what I started and what I can still do which let me push those fears behind me to use as momentum. Although they phrased it as “Shut up Marc, just keep helping people.”

I’ll also mention Richard Douglas at Oakville.com, he did a great job with trying to get more municipal votes from his site, and helping me with designing my first ever web ads. His site was balanced and I appreciated his approach and the way he tried to get all of Oakville to get out for the Municipal elections.

Major Dan and Wendy and the rest of the staff and residents at the Salvation Army Lighthouse also deserve my thanks for letting me take time off for the weekends prior to the election. I’m talking about B’Onje, Muluba, Erin and Lauren here; every time I called to ensure residents at the shelter had healthy food, they told me yes and reported on the meals — took a load off my mind.

I’d also like to call out to the parent leaders of schools in my Ward who distributed my materials and made sure people knew to get out and vote. Effy, Betty Ann, Hazel and the rest really helped me because they believed in what I was doing.

Thanks to all who provided testimonials to my, erm, Testimonial page, too, by the way.

Now, the second most important person to my campaign was Jeff Knoll, we shared ideas over the last 7 years (actually, we get the same ideas at the same time, it’s scary) and I think to even comment on the basics of how he helped through this election cycle would discredit all the work and advice he’s provided to help me. We both had odd campaigns, but he was always there when I called, just as I know he’ll be there for Ward 5 residents.

The most important person, if you didn’t get it yet, is my wife, Tracy. In marriage, you choose someone you deeply love, someone you hope is your soulmate and someone who you believe will support you. I was blessed on all counts when I made my vows to Tracy; she put her business aside and walked home to home with me to ask people if I did okay and to get their vote. She makes me feel like a better person every day I wake up because she always believes in me. I could never ask for a better partner in life.

As an aside,my daughters Carling and Mackenzie were great; and they learned a lot about politics. They never complained and were fantastic speaking to people which I think was an inherited trait from their mom.

If I missed thanking you, it’s not like it wasn’t appreciated; it’s just been a long journey and my brain is still reeling from all the support I had.

So, thank you, everyone…
Marc.

This afternoon, I was surprised and honoured to hear that the Oakville District Labour Council has chosen me as one of the 6 candidates they are endorsing in the Oakville election.

In their statement:

“The Oakville and District Labour council has had Marc Grant’s continued support without us even inquiring about it over the years via our Day of Mourning event held at the Oakville Library every year on April 28th. Marc continues to show up to show support and he has a genuine concern for working class families. Not an every day politician, Marc goes that extra mile to find out things when you ask him to help you out. President Dave Millar feels that Marc is one of a very few that are elected in Oakville worthy or your consideration for re-election this October 25, 2010.”

I have and will continue to support the needs of families in Oakville and it’s great to have that recognized by — along with the recommendations of — the ODLC.

With only a few days left to the election, it’s great that the momentum of support continues to grow. Thanks, everyone.

THANK YOU!

As I go home to home in Ward 5 and talk with neighbours about the issues* I’ve had a number of great front yard chats. By pulling together the facts and figures on the spot from my experience on Council, it’s great to personally help them better understand an issue and, in some cases, make notes to take care of their concerns as we push forward over the next term.

* If we haven’t chatted yet, then you likely got one of my ‘sorry I missed you’ cards, or I haven’t been on your street yet, in either case, email me. I’ve posted this section of the blog to answer some questions ahead of our chat.

There have been some recurring questions, however, and so I thought it might be good to do a “W5″ on W5. I’ll start now with the most frequent questions over the last month and add as I get more…

  • People ask about the hospital: yes we need it and yes, it’s going forward, but remember that my ward mate Councillor Jeff Knoll and I were the ones to put breaks on making a quick decision in December 2009, asking Council to open the matter for public debate. Over the three months we were allowed, there was a great exchange of ideas and debate, but when the deadline approached, there was no time left to ‘play chicken’ with the Province. I approved the hospital because we needed it, but that doesn’t mean I think we need to burden ourselves (taxpayers) with the extra cost. Jeff and I have both been looking for better ways to pay for the hospital; we were the first to see the sale of ‘Blink’ to Rogers Communications as a source and keep a watchful eye on the build and the costs. Both our concerns were raised early this year as noted in this February article in Oakville Today.
  • Do I think we should do more for youth in North Oakville? Yes, for our kids growing up past 8, there’s not a lot of free-play spaces; at Council, I fought and won to maintain community parkettes in Ward 5, attended every school board meeting when they wanted to sell the White Oaks School lands to ensure we could keep them in public hands and even railed against the dismantling of the West Oak Trails skate park as noted in this article.
  • Providing activities for youth is a keystone in ensuring that we address growing problems of vandalism and rowdiness occurring town-wide, I’ve been working for over a year now to create a new way of approaching the situation noted, if not completely accurately, here.
  • How do I engage the community is another good question. Jeff and I have run several community-building events over the last two years, from the Oak Park Fall Fair to Movies in the Park to the annual Ward 5 Christmas Tree Lighting. I’m most proud of the fact that, for the last two years, Ward 5 has been the only ward in Oakville with a consistent, monthly drop-in meeting, where residents can come in, discuss their concerns and let us deal with their problems before they become too large. The coffee is bad and the cookies stale, but the conversation is always interesting.
  • Is being a Local Councillor a full-time job? It can be considered a part-time job, and some will, but I work at being your Local Councillor full time — I am House Cook at the Salvation Army Lighthouse homeless shelter, but other than my requirement to be there for 9 hours on Saturday and Sunday, I have the flexibility to dedicate my full day weekdays looking after the needs of the people I was elected to represent.
  • What political party are you with? I have never belonged to any political party; seriously, party politics have no place in our municipal world. You can’t serve two masters, so I’m guided only by the concerns of the people who I was elected to represent, not some larger party or special interest. I’ll add that I have no ambitious political goals beyond taking care of Ward 5, I don’t want to be that next Prime Minister, just that guy who you can turn to for help.

Over the next days (7 days left!) I’ll add more answers to questions from what people ask me on their lawns, stuff I get from twitter, email and things in the comments section. To help give context or inspire further discussion, don’t forget to check out my position or testimonials. Things I’ve recently done in the community are covered by these pictures and a recent blog post.

Municipal politics is important, we deal with everything that hits close to home, we’re people who live close to you and stay connected to our communities. No matter what you do, you need to vote on October 25th. It’s a two person race for my seat, covered well in this recent article, and while I obviously want your vote, I just want you to vote, period.

Okay, ask me some questions….

Platform and Testimonials

Since people have been missing the tabs across the top bar (a web designer I am not), I just wanted to remind you that you can find my position statement here and testimonials here.

If you have specific questions, just email me by clicking here.

Most recent testimonial:

“I’ve consistently seen Marc put himself out there for the people of
his community.  He always takes a sensitive, nuanced and intelligent
approach to representing his constituents and advocating on their
behalf.  He’s also got a good sense of the “big picture”, of the
greater issues affecting the Town and how our community fits into it;
all of which helps him in effectively representing the needs of our
local neighbourhoods.

He is a man of humility, integrity and vision.  It’s my hope that he
can be reelected to continue implementing that vision.” - Howard J., Ward 5 business owner & resident (College Park)

Tales from Sleeping in the Park

The ground beneath this tree was my bed for the night.

Squirrels are evil creatures.

I know this. I learned it first hand — well, I learned it left hand, because one tried to snack on my left pinky finger. Let me explain:

Last Friday, in order to raise awareness of the situation that the homeless in Oakville face and to experience it personally, I slept overnight at Coronation Park, sans blankets or a tent.  Early in the evening, surrounded by others from the Salvation Army Lighthouse and some interested residents, I had the romantic notions of being an old school vagabond, spending the night under the stars, close to the lake with only the clothes on my back to protect me.

However, as the evening became silent and the sky pulled it’s deep black over the sleeping Town, I discovered there was nothing romantic about the notion.

First, there was the bench.  It’s a popular image: a person sleeping on a park bench has almost become so cliché, I assumed there must be some reasoning behind it. “That’s my bed for tonight,” I thought with a smile as I approached it.

I loved this album and the image sticks with me even today.

Now, maybe it’s to do with the benches that Oakville has purchased but trust me, there’s no way that you can curl up, lie back or even try to relax on those things.  The wood sticks into your back, your feet hang off over the end and there’s that constant ‘chair tipping back’ feeling you’ll slip off somehow. Sitting is comfortable, but there’s no head rest so you have to lean forward which causes you to wonder if you’ll tumble to the hard pavement midway through the night.

Ah, but there was a large tree behind me. Now, there was a concern it would rain that night, so a tree? Perfect.  It’s large branches would protect me from the rain, and the ground underneath was as soft as many a mattress I slept on.  I laughed at my attempts to sleep on a bench when such a perfect spot was nearby, and settled down for the night.

As I found my comfort in the grass, I got one of those strange feelings that my skin was crawling. My mind was playing tricks on me, obviously, I mean I felt nothing on my face.  Likely, I was getting used to my environment.

Half an hour later, the crawling feeling persisted.  I cursed my weak mind, but did notice the temperature dropping, so, pulling my one luxury item out — my iPhone — I flipped it on to check the weather. As the screen came to life, three spiders on it jumped from the sudden light and crawled up my sleeve.

My response was a macho “GAAAAA” (I’m pretty sure Van Damme said “GAAA” in a movie, once) as I leapt up to shake about and get rid of the creatures using my body for warmth. ‘Okay,” I calmed myself with a thought, “just bugs, I’ve put up with them all this time, I can share the night with them.”  I steeled myself and settled back into the grass.

When you realize the crawling feeling is not all in your mind, you become very aware of everything making trails across your skin.  Your mind fills in the blanks. Reminding myself that the point for the evening was to deal with situations a homeless person might, however, I resolved to be strong, drifting off to sleep with the sound of the waves at Coronation Park’s beach and the little pitter-patter of bug feet on my extremities.

Cute woodland creature or flesh-eating menace?

I don’t know what time it was, but the park was peaceful, the night was cool and I woke with a shooting pain in my left hand. I raised it quickly and with it, tossed a squirrel a few feet away.  As it checked me over and ran off, I looked to my hand an saw — scratches? bite marks? — I’m not sure, but I do know that it must have thought I was a corpse and wanted to devour my flesh.  Think about it: we don’t know what squirrels actually do in the cold dead of the night. Sure, during the day they are cute and fun, but I bet they can’t hibernate simply on nuts alone, they want blood. There must be some reason why dogs, “man’s best friend”, don’t like them — dogs want to protect us from squirrels. I’m pretty sure cats hate them, too.

By the way, if you do go into Coronation Park and see a squirrel, please be careful — once they get a taste for human flesh, there’s no going back.

Anyway, looking about for other flesh-eating intruders — someone mentioned coyotes, but they were likely scared off by the squirrel population — and seeing nothing obvious, I settled back down for the night.

Time passed, light was peaking over the horizon, trying to seek it’s way past the cloud cover.  Blissfully, it didn’t rain that evening, despite the wind and warnings. Reaching up to rub my eyes, I noticed the sheen of frost all over my clothes and in felt it in my hair.  Maybe it didn’t rain, but it got cold.  It was early enough that no other human soul was stirring, but birds had just woken and started singing.  Normally, as I’m not a morning person, I hate the sound but this day it was a pleasant reminder of my surroundings. I closed my eyes to get more sleep.

Above me, the distinctive sound of something falling through branches caught my attention.  My eyes snapped open.  Rain?  Squirrels attacking me with nuts? No…

When you sleep under a tree, one thing you should consider is that if birds enjoy the tree as a place to gather, they don’t just sing.  They eat. And they… expel droppings.

So concerned was I that the birds crapped next to my head, I missed hearing the shot that hit my foot.

And that was that.  Bugs, squirrels, the cold, birds — I gave up and went to my car to spend the next two hours sleeping in enclosed comfort.

Marginally feeling like a failure, I also wondered how so many of the people who are homeless and sleep in such places at below the Cross Avenue bridge can cope.

My night was cold, yes, but nothing compared to what they will feel when winter shows it’s true face.

I know that poverty and homelessness aren’t huge issues in the upcoming municipal election, but they should be.  And I get that I talk too much about this for some people’s tastes, but it’s something I wear too close to my heart as I work with people who have found help and are trying to get back on their feet. Nights like the one spent sleeping in the park remind me of the 1,300 people in Halton who were sent away or couldn’t get help over the course of the past year.

As we head to a season where we’re thankful and will be surrounded by the warmth of our families, let’s all remember to donate money or food to local food banks and shelters.  And, like some other families I’ve met, when you have a huge celebration in your home throughout the rest of the year (people were donating on Canada Day), celebrate by giving to others, too.

When all was said and done, I was thankful that I had the experience to sleep in another’s shoes, even if I always had the awareness that I could always go back to my regular life — or, as it turned out, go back to my car.

Still, I feel very lucky that it left me with a greater awareness of what my fellow person has to deal with, having only bug bites and a terrible head cold from the experience.

I feel very lucky to have the love and support of my family and community, knowing that there are people there for me should times become as dark as the skies over Coronation Park last Friday.

And finally, I’m very thankful to be aware of the true, evil nature of squirrels. I’m warning you about them, time will bear out my claims.

Squirrels are evil creatures.

Testimonials

As noted in an earlier post, I’ve finally added a page for quotes from people in the community.  I’ll be releasing new testimonials every few days to keep things fresh and you can check the above menu bar to read what is being said by people in the community — perhaps, even, your neighbours.

Since you’re reading this here, it might be just as easy to click on THIS.

I will add this, however: if a person is only as strong as their support, I’ve been feeling very strong lately from the outpour of support from the people I’ve helped and I thank all those who have been coming forward to share their experiences.

I Feel Very Honoured and Privileged

The Oakville Professional Fire Fighters Association has chosen me as the candidate they support for Ward 5 Local Councillor. On duty, they are the first responders in all emergencies and off duty, work just as hard to help many charities and causes throughout the Town. It is an honour and a privilege to have earned their respect.

“Marc has worked very hard to improve public safety for the citizens of Oakville. With his help, the Oakville Fire Department has become a provincial leader in fire safety. He cares about his firefighters and the citizens we serve.” – Carmen Santoro, President, OPFFA.

PS: I’ll be posting more testimonials soon, check back to see what your friends and neighbours have to say.

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Sunday Dinner at the Lighthouse

I sure that many people have memories of Sunday dinner as the big family meal; everyone sitting around the table sharing what happened during the week or what they plan to do for the week ahead, with camaraderie and lots of gut-busting food. Perhaps a few of us do that with our own families, still.

When I realized a year and a half ago that every weekend would be spent at the Salvation Army Lighthouse, I decided that I wanted to recreate that special kind of Sunday dinner for the residents. While some of the people who live with us have contact with family and friends, a larger portion have been turned out from family homes and disconnected from friendships due to issues surrounding their addictions or mental health. What better way to reconnect them with a sense of normalcy and boost their spirits for the week ahead than an old-fashioned Sunday dinner?

The Lighthouse has a small budget to help us purchase food when needed, so I usually spend Saturday nights pouring over food flyers, mapping out a meal plan for the next evening.

This week, I was in luck: two of the stores on my route to the shelter had great deals. At the first place I found 8 cobs of corn for $1 and at the second, whole chickens were on for $5 — better still, the meat manager let me take an extra dollar off the price as I explained to him why I was buying more than the limit.

Back to the shelter. After putting out snack (fresh-baked cookies, watermelon slices, ice cream and carrot sticks & dip), I filled two large pots with water, some vinegar and sugar and put to warm. Then, I butterflied the chickens at the breast bone, flattened them, dusted them with season salt and jerk spice and threw them on the barbecue. Rain started spattering, so I rolled the unit under an awning.

Getting a nice char and some smoke on the nine birds, and considering the rain, I decided to let them finish in the oven — they’d end up more moist that way, anyways. To un-flatten an flattened chicken, I grabbed some oregano from my herb garden and pulled some lemons we normally use for fish Fridays. Poking holes in the lemon, with a tuft of oregano on top, I wrapped the chicken around it so it looked like a normal roasting chicken, breast down. Roasting with the lemon inside would give a nice citrus finish to the taste of the meat. Just to bring it out further, I zested and juiced some limes and added a touch of honey to make a finishing glaze.

Next, I set the pots to boil and tossed the shucked cobs of corn in. So that was protein and a starch of the way; I needed greens.

In the freezer, I spotted two bags of green beans, not enough for all the residents, but I recalled a dish my grandfather often made for breakfast on his farm in the Netherlands. Pulling my mandoline from my knife kit I shaved some potatoes into slices and julienned spanish onions. Fry the onions in butter, set aside in a hotel pan. Fry the potatoes in the same pan adding butter with some cracked pepper, add to onions. Toss the green beans, slightly thawed, into the same pan, allowing the moisture from the beans to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the tasty charred parts and fry in some butter with crushed garlic. Toss together with the onions and potatoes and place in a warming rack.

I still had romaine from the other day, I managed to get some half-decent tomatoes from the Food For Life truck and there were still carrots and celery in the fridge, so I had a salad.

To add a gut-busting element, I took some donated croutons, moisturized them with chicken broth and added some sautéed celery, onions and sage; stuffing.

And finally, Joe — one of our older residents who has a connection with a local Portuguese bakery — brought in some fresh rolls.

And there it was: Quarter Jerk Chicken with honey-lime glaze, Corn on the Cob, Grandpa’s green bean blend, stuffing, fresh salad and warm rolls.

When I went into the dining hall to announce that there was enough for seconds, everyone hooted and applauded and asked for me to sit with them for a while. And why not, I thought, most of the pots and pans were already cleaned, I had time.

Siting at the table I realized that these smiling faces around me were very much like a family to me. Our paths may cross for only three months at the most, but getting to know them — listening to how these people had been through so many terrible circumstances, how they’re working to get their lives back in order, sharing their frustrations over setbacks and high-fiving good news — you build a connection. We may not be a family by blood but for now, today, we’re a family by circumstance. Ending the week, sharing a laugh and the table with family, that’s what makes a Sunday dinner.

Yesterday I mentioned that I’d have a list of things specific to the needs of the Lighthouse. I say specific, because we take the same dry and canned goods as other places — and often if we have more than we need, we share with other food banks in the area.

The Salvation Army Lighthouse is a bit of a different animal from other places because of our resident population and the fact we’re open every day. Essentially, if it’s edible, wrapped and in good condition, you can drop it off at 750 Redwood Square between 7AM to 7 PM, 7 days a week.

If you have a social gathering, a party, a back yard barbecue and you have extra stuff – don’t throw it out, we’ll take it. In certain circumstances, I’ll even pick up. For example, the kitchen at the Burlington Convention Centre had made more food than was needed for a company’s Christmas party, so the head chef called and said that if I came to the receiving door around 11 PM, he’d have trays of roast beef, roasted vegetables, saffron chicken, gnocchi and pumpkin ravioli — only if I was interested. I was at their door at 10:45 PM and the residents at the Lighthouse ate gourmet food for a week following.

Another time, Ann Mulvale had finished her birthday party and discovered that there was a lot of leftover beef, sausages and boxes of apples (I never asked what the apples were for, cake alternative?). One call to me at 10:30 PM and I was at the door of her birthday venue 20 minutes later loading up my little car. Again, the residents ate well for a week. I’ve even picked up food when someone in the community calls and asks something along the lines of “could you use a rib roast?”

So, to summarize this long story, we take dry goods, we take fresh food and we share what we don’t need with other food banks. But if you want specifics when it comes to what we need, use and go through day to day, here’s the list:

Perishable goods:

  • whole chickens
  • beef roasts
  • pork (roast, chops, sausage, bacon)
  • cheese
  • lunch meat
  • frozen veggies

Non-perishable goods:

  • white flour
  • breakfast cereal
  • salad dressings
  • condiments (ketchup, mayo, bbq sauce)
  • pickles
  • sugar
  • coffee (ground, in tins)
  • regular tea
  • chicken or beef broth in Tetra Paks.

Miscellaneous:

  • shaving kits
  • toothpaste
  • deodorant
  • soap
  • laundry detergent

And since people have asked before, yes, we’ll also take pre-paid grocery cards if you prefer to leave the shopping to us.

So I hope that helps the many people who ask me what we’ll take (almost anything, really) and what we need.

One last story. Shucking 36 cobs of corn in a store this morning, a woman asked me if the shelter would be interested in some cake shavings from her wedding cake business. I instantly thought of making fruit trifles, smiled and, while giving her my card, said “we’d love it and anything else you can think of.”

Anything.

Marc.

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Saturday in the Lighthouse

Well, last night’s Movies in the Park with Jeff and Marc went well, and with people still hungry late into the evening I ended up barbecuing by streetlight.

I love the Movie in the Park event, especially as it was great to connect with people from the community and put faces to the email addresses of so many people I’ve helped. My only regret: I was so busy that I didn’t get to see the movie.

I hope to post some pictures when my Ward-mate and friend, Councillor Jeff Knoll sends them my way.

The evening went later than expected and so once home, I threw myself into bed as I had to be up early to get at my weekend duties in the kitchen at the Salvation Army Lighthouse.

I had some great soaps to give the Lighthouse residents courtesy of my friend Tina AKA @LusciousBubblez, which put a great start to the day to see so many thankful faces sniff the soaps, while oohing and ahhing at the textures. (Thanks, Tina.)

We had a number of new residents rotate in this week, who gathered around and jokingly told me that I’d better be as good a cook as they heard — or else.  And they must have been pretty serious in wanting a good meal — 24 of our 30 residents had signed up for meals, rather than making me go through my usual morning ritual of tracking them down and having to ask them if they planned to eat with us.

Clipboard in hand it was to the kitchen. I bought some fresh buns on sale on the way down to the shelter and remembered that I had some donated shaved roast beef put aside in the large freezer. Looking through the produce donations, I found some red onions and peppers and a plan was forming. To the cheese reserves: a small block of havarti and a larger one of cheddar.

The sliced beef went into a pan with some water, beef broth and worcestershire sauce and into the oven on high heat to thaw. The fresh buns cut open and pulled apart, set on a large tray. Onions and peppers were julienned and sautéed with butter, cracked pepper and salt. The two cheeses, grated together, with some dry parmesan cheese sprinkled in to add sharpness and texture. Then, I combined some low-fat mayo that was donated last week with dijon mustard and worcestershire sauce to make a creamy spread.

So, beef from the oven, two slices on the bun, a smattering of the onions and peppers, a dollop of the spread and a heavy sprinkling of cheese, repeat 32 times.  Yes, we had 24 sign ups, but I always make a few extra in case we get an unexpected drop-in or if some of our residents with larger appetites are looking for seconds. Pop the tray (turned out to be two trays, actually) into the oven at 350°F and bake for 20 minutes.

For a side dish — there were some romaine heads donated, some cooked pasta in tupperware and I still had a few onions and peppers left. I looked at the mayo and mustard and knew that if I combined all this together with some fresh celery and celery seed, we’d get an awesome pasta salad.

So there we go: Faux Philly sandwiches with pasta salad. A glimmer in the back of my mind at 10:45 and hot/cold on the plate by noon.

According to the new people, I had successfully lived up to my reputation, as espoused by the longer-term residents and staff. Hearing the many compliments and seeing them all sitting together, sharing stories and laughing, I forgot how tired I was from the night before and I stopped worrying about the six hours I still had on my feet because, suddenly, I was walking on air.

I allowed myself a rare moment to savour the scene of this “family” gathering before turning my attention back to the hot kitchen: snack time and dinner were looming on the horizon and I’d better be ready. After all, I had a reputation to uphold.

I intend to post a blog on what we need donated at the shelter, Tamara AKA @WonderMoms_ca keeps asking me to, and I’ll get to it soon. The Lighthouse is a bit different in that we take fresh good and do so 7 days a week from 7 AM to 7 PM.

Summer is a tough time for food banks and shelters, every little bit you can share from your home to others in the community counts now more than ever.

I’ll provide more insights into how I spend my weekends at the Lighthouse kitchen as well as further info on donations tomorrow.

Marc.

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So, that happened…

Yesterday the skate park at West Oak Trails was removed without, it seems, notice to the skater community.  Because of that, two young people were ticketed with interference because they hated to see their park taken away. It’s a frustration I can understand.

I’ve been fielding many calls — and not just from Ward 5 residents — over the removal of the park since I was one of the few who felt we could have used more community consultation with the youth rather than cave in to the demands of a handful of ‘NIMBYS’ as the skater community calls them.

I still can’t help but feel that if the Vandalism and Rowdiness report I requested (twice) had been funded earlier in the year, the first time around, we could have had the tools to keep the park for the enjoyment of all and discourage the few bad apples which caused stress for the neighbours.

Council made a huge mistake here, and while I understand people should learn from their mistakes, it’s unfortunate that this lesson comes at the expense of needed facilities for youth in North Oakville.

In happier news, everything is a ‘go’ for the Movies in the Park with Jeff and Marc event. Along with great food from M&M’s Sixth Line we also have Mangiamo Pizza Buffet supplying fresh-made pies throughout the evening.  I’ll be manning the grill, so pop by and say hello.

As well, I’ve had confirmation to use Coronation Park for the event to raise awareness of the less fortunate in Oakville, ‘Sleeping in the Park’. With that, I’m now working at getting the Salvation Army’s huge rolling kitchen with outdoor grill to serve those who attend.  It’ll be fun and moderately-priced ticketed event.