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Previous News for Clarence-Rockland

Katimavik Rockland getting ready for a new group
Recreation and Cultural Complex - Update

Public Library opens in new complex
The "Y" is here in Rockland
Cell Phone Service that works in Rockland with three month Bell Sympatico trial
OPP warn residents of building inspector impersonator
Rockland: Child Restraint Seat workshop a success
Rockland's Benoît Lalonde (Ben's Cycle) gets honourable mention
Rockland is growing - Here's the latest
Cable ferry project between Clarence-Rockland and Thurso
Katimavik Rockland getting ready for a new group
Coyote similar to this one spotted in our areaThe eleven participants who made up the last Katimavik group worked very hard to put on the Eco Film Festival held at the Optimist Cultural Center. They come from a wide background and from all across Canada, says Heather Darwish, the project leader in Rockland, and now after six months they are all heading back home.

A new group will be arriving in Rockland in a few weeks and then it will be their turn to work within the community and to pick a project. Watch this site for more information.

Katimavik offers Canadian youth the opportunity to contribute to the sustainable development of communities across Canada through challenging volunteer service programs. For more information about Katimavik in canada, click here. The local Katimavik number is: 613-446-0898.
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Recreational and Cultural Complex - Update

The "Recreation" part of the new complex is now open, and it's a beauty!
Clarence-Rockland YM-YWCA-pool
The pool features up to four swimming lanes, a resistance loop,
hot wading pool and a whirlpool/hot tub. (Photo-Meikle)

For updated information click here.
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Public Library Rockland Branch now open

The new Rockland Branch has been open for some time. It is located at 1525 Ave du Parc and is part of the new recreation and cultural center attached to L'Escale School, in fact they share the facilities.
Compared to the old library... it's spectacular!
For an overview, click here.

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The "Y" is here in Clarence-Rockland
The National Capital Region YMCA-YWCA is now operating the new Clarence-Rockland recreational complex in partnership with the municipal library of the City of Clarence Rockland and L’Escale High School.

The new facility features two pools, state of the art fitness equipment, a gymnasium, and aerobics and cycling studios. A huge variety of health, fitness, recreational and educational
programming are being offered for all ages.

The initial sign-ups for memberships out-numbered everyone's expectations. Simply put it is just a great facility.

For the latest on the new complex click here.

And for an overview, Click here.
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SOLO Cell Phone Service with three month Bell Sympatico trial

(Rockland - Tuesday, April 21, 2009)
by Patrick Meikle

(I have just signed on with Solo cell phone service (Solo is owned by Bell), through WirelessWave in Place d'Orléans and I am now actually able to send and receive calls in and around Rockland and my home area, for the first time in years! The package also came with a free three-month trial of Bell sympatico Internet serivice. Read on...)

I live on the west side of Clarence-Rockland in Blue Jay Ridge, near Canaan Road, which is the border between Rockland and Ottawa. I have had cell phones for over 20 years. I started with Bell Mobility, switched to Telus (found it did not work near my home), then switched to Rogers (I was told the service was great where I lived). So after getting stuck into a three-year plan I found out that the signal strength in and around Rockland, and specifically within a mile or two radius of my home did not work. My main purpose for having reliable cell phone service was because of an illness in my family and the need to be available if needed.

About two years into the plan and after complaining vigorously to Rogers (via their customer service department), I was sent two different models of cell telephones... a Nokia and a Motorola. Neither worked well from home, and neither worked well in and around the Rockland area generally. In early April 2009, when I was checking my cell phone bill, I found out that my contracted had ended in March and I was now on a month-to-month payment method. (They will never tell you that your contract has ended!)

As soon as I learned that my contract was up, I cancelled the service with Rogers (boy did they try to offer me incentives to stay with them).

I spent some weeks researching cell phone service in my area, mostly talking to people who use cell phones in and around the Clarence-Rockland area.

People told me ovewhelmingly that Bell service was by far the best and most reliable. It is not perfect, because depending on the individual telephone, there are dead spsots... along some the highway stretches either east or west of Rockland; around Bourget and the Larose Forest area, and in sporadic locations anywhere there is a dip in the road (ravine or valley) or around hills and rock cuts.

Eliminating Telus and Rogers from my search, I concentrated on other cell phone suppliers including Sprint, Virgin, Fido, Solo and Bell. From what I could learn, only Bell and Solo (owned by Bell) would work efficiently in the Rockland area. I then: i) visited one Bell Store, ii) called Bell Mobility, and iii) visited one local cell phone supplier in Rockland.

My intent was to get the most economical service for my needs as well as to try and find the model of phone which would work the best where I live. (I'm not interested in listening to music, playing games, watching videos, taking pictures, accessing the Internet, or text messaging. I just want a plain and simple phone that is easy to maneuver.)

I also inquired about bundling my service. If you already have Bell Telephone service you can get small savings if you add Bell Sympatico Internet Service and/or Bell Mobility (cell) service. I also looked at the difference between getting a long-term contract (2 - 3 years) or a pay-as-you-go plan.

With Rogers we had two phones on a "Pooled Family Weekend Plan" which allowed for free "Between Us Calling" (family plan), 200 free minutes per month, plus evenings and weekends free. But for each of the two phones per month we were paying:

  • $20.00 for the plan
  • .50-cents for 911 Emergency Service Access Fee
  • $6.95 for System Access Fee

With taxes this cost between $57 and $58.
(Long distance calls and anything over the 200 minutes during weekdays cost extra.)

Plans -vs- Pay-as-you-go (Bell/Solo)
Unless you are only using your cell phone for emergencies or only making a few call per month, the pay-as-you-go plan is not particularly economical. First, you have to buy the phone (starting price around $70 depending on the model you want.) Then you have to purchase calling cards between $30 and $40, and depending on what time of the day or weekend you call, the cost can be between .40-cents and .04-cents per minuts. Also, calling cards are only good for a limited amount of time before they expire. You can accumulate unused minutes, however at the end of a 30-day or 75-day life of the card you must purchase another calling card to re-activate the phone.

Recommendation:
So I think a longer term plan of two to three years, tailored to your needs is the better way to go.

The Bell Store, Bell Mobility service inquiring via your home phone, and a local Rockland outlet, all had similar options for phones and plans, but in adding up the monthly costs (either with Bell Mobility or with Solo), they all come up with different totals with a difference of up to $10 or more per month.

Incidentally, the consultant at the Bell Store was most helpful, gave me lots of attention and outlined several plan options. Forget about calling Bell Mobility service... by the time you drill down through the maze of number options to get a real person who can actually help you, you can waste a lot of time, plus finding just one person who can answer all of your questions about bundling the three Bell services (home, Internet and cell) takes more time. It took me about 45 minutes to get the answers I wanted. And the local Rockland outlet, I won't mention their name because the young woman who served me was most inattentive and seemed to be more interested in who was walking in and out of the store, than in serving me. I guess a potential sale and a future customer is not important.

After this exercise I then went to the Internet to look for other potential cell services and as well as different cell phone models. After calling several companies and eliminating many of them, I came across a store in the Place d'Oréans Mall. WirelessWave is around the corner, right, from the eastern entrance closest to Zeller's... and right across from Cinnabon.

I spoke to Muneesh Canth, a Communications Consultant and after listening to the deal he offered, I concluded that the best cell phone package for me would be from Solo, through WirelessWave.

Here is what I got (with a two-year commitment):

  • Free Phone (a Samsung SPH-M300)
  • No activation fee
  • No system access fee
  • No 911 access fee
  • 100 minutes per month
  • Free service evenings (7:00 pm to 8:00 a.m.)
  • Free weekends (7:00 p.m. Friday until 8:00 a.m. Monday)

All this for $20 + taxes = $22.60 per month. Compared to the $58/month with Rogers, I am now saving $35 per month and the phone works in my area!

Muneesh also threw in a free car charger and an excellent quality leather clip-on-a-belt carrying case. I also purchased a compatible Motorola Bluetooth Headset, Model H375, so I could use the phone "hands free". (I'm still testing it out.)

Muneesh later called me to advise that if I was interested WirelessWave, through Bell Sympatico, was offering to first-time users, a free three month trial of Internet service. I have signed on for the service and will let you know how it works.

(Before I purchased a cell phone, I asked if there was a way I could actually check out the phone to see if it works in my area. I was told that I could keep the phone up to 15 days, and try it for no longer than 15-minutes of air time. If it did not work in my area (as in if I couldl not get a signal), I could return the phone. No other dealer made that offer.)

After I purchased my cell phone from WirelessWave, and on my way home from Orleans to Rockland, my son and I compared the signal on three different phones - a Nokia (Rogers), the new Samsung (Solo) and an older Sanyo Katana (Solo). We travelled from Orleans east along Old Montreal Road, through Cumberland Village, east to Regional Road 174, and continued east to Canaan Road. We then traveled south on Canaan Road until we reached Blue Jay.

During the drive, all three phones worked, all with varying signal strength (at times one better than the other) until we reached Canaan Road. Once up the hill on Canaan, my Nokia with Rogers service cut out permanently. The other two phones (with Bell signal) all managed to keep their signal strength, albeit often down to one bar on the signal strength meter. And to my pleasure, the new Solo Samsung phone, continued to show a strong enough signal in, around and inside my home.

You can click here for further specs and a few reviews or do your own Google search for more. If you have any comments, please let me know .

(This information is based on my personal experience. I have no affiliation with WirelessWave.)
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OPP Warning to Clarence Rockland residents
(Building Inspector Impersonator)

During the summer of 2008, a man posing as a City Building Inspector for the City of Clarence-Rockland attended two residences, one in the City of Rockland and the second in Hammond area.

The individual requested permission to enter their home to conduct a final home inspection but upon request from the owners, he was unable to produce identification as a City of Clarence-Rockland Building Inspector. It was also reported that the individual was driving a white pick up truck similar to the City of Clarence-Rockland vehicle. No further description on the individual is presently available.

Russell County OPP is presently investigating these incidents and would like to remind everyone to be cautious.

If the impersonator attends your residence ask for identification. If he is unable to produce identification do not let this individual come into your home. Try to get a license plate number, a physical description of the individual and called Russell County OPP at
1-888-310-1122 as soon as possible to report the incident. Staff members of City of Clarence-Rockland all have proper identification cards and will produce them upon demand.
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Rockland:
Child Restraint Seats inspection clinic a success
By all appearances, a recent inspection clinic to look at Child Restraint Seats, was a complete success and Rockland resident and organizer Serena Shelley couldn't be happier.

Shelley, an instructor for child restraint systems (CRS) with S.E.A.T.S. Coalition, advised the Canaan Connexion that 28 appointments were made for the clinic which was held inside the service bays thanks to the local Canadian Tire store.

Twenty-five people actually showed up for the clinic although three of those had to be rescheduled because their older model vehicles did not have the proper anchors to secure forward facing seats.

Most of those attending had seats appropriate for their child. Once an infant reaches the age of one year and 22 pounds they may move to to a forward facing restraint but Transport Canada states: "The longer you use a rear-facing infant-only seat, infant /child seat, or infant/child/booster seat that fits correctly, even past your baby's first birthday, the safer your baby will be in a crash." (source www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety )

Shelley is hoping local inspection clinics can be held at leat twice a year and volunteers are needed to assist as inspection technicians.

This year there were two technicians and two CRS instructors available for the clinic so the clinic went smoothly. These people were provided by S.E.A.T.S Coalition, a not for profit organization made up of community volunteers including members of the health care and policing communities. They also do courses, seminars and inspection clinics.

If anyone is interested in becoming a technician, they must qualify by taking an 16-hour training course then pass an exam to receive their certification.

Shelley is hoping to have the local S.E.A.T.S. Coalition Web site up and running soon.

In the meantime, if you would like more information on becoming a certified technician or if you would like to have your child seat checked out, call 613-446-6628, e-mail Serena Shelley at: serena [at] sympatico.ca or or the Seat Coalition at: seats_coalition [at] hotmail.com.
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Rockland's Benoît Lalonde (Ben's Cycle) gets honourable mention
Benoît Lalonde, president of Ben's Cycle in Rockland, has received an "honourable mention" in the Desjardins Young Entrepreneur Prizes, offered in collaboration with Fondation Desjardins. These prestigious prizes, each worth $40,000, highlight the outstanding achievements of Québec businesses that contribute to social advancement and community enrichment. Ben's Cycle was the only company cited from Ontario.

The finalists, from many regions across Québec and Rockland, Ontario, are divided into five main categories, thereby allowing a greater number of businesses to benefit from Desjardins' recognition.

According to Stéphane Achard, Senior Vice-President of Business Markets, "Desjardins puts all its strengths - the skills of its people, its accessibility and its offer of a complete, integrated service - to work for entrepreneurs who put their trust in us. The Desjardins Entrepreneurship Prizes are our way of saying "thank you" to many of them.

The winners of the Young Entrepreneur Prizes will be announced on February 21, 2007, during the 24th annual conference of the Québec Fondation de l'entrepreneurship. All other winners will be announced during the "Grands Enjeux de SECOR / Les Affaires" conference presented by Desjardins on April 17 and 19.

For complete details on the YEP, click here.
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Clarence-Rockland is growing - the latest...

Clarence-Rockland is a good place to be, and it is growing. In the last number of years we got a MacDonalds, Burger King, Submarine, Tim Horton's, new Independent Grocers, Canadian Tire, Discount vehicle rental and now a Shopper's Drug Mart. Soon we will have a TD-Canada Trust. Can Walmart be far away?

Now we have to work on the LCBO. Let's get a quality store that will serve the needs of our growing population!



Rockland needs a bigger LCBO!

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Cable ferry project between Clarence-Rockland and Thurso
Transport Canada would like to communicate some important information to residents of the Clarence-Rockland, Ontario and Thurso, Quebec regions pertaining to a possible project for a cable ferry between the two cities. More...
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Clarence-Rockland
Our City is growing
and you should get
to know it!
Here is a backgrounder
on the City we live in as
found on Answers.com
More...

Click here to go to Vision Newspaper site
1579 Laurier Street
( P.O.Box 897)
Rockland, ON K4K 1L5
Tel: 446-6456
Fax: 446-1381
Web:
http://www.visionrockland.ca/


E-mail:
vision@eap.on.ca

For residents living in the Clarence-Rockland area,
the
Vision is our weekly
community newspaper.
It also carries the
City of Clarence- Rockland's
adsministrative announcements in the weekly
Vox Populi section.
It is
our responsibility to
read these important notices
to keep up with what the
City is doing.
In some areas, the
Vision is
delivered only through the
Ad Bag, so it is important to pick up your copy promptly
on Fridays, while there are
enough to go around.
Some Vision archival
(older news) material can
be found by...
Clicking here.

(Comment? E-mail editor:)

SITEMAP

Can't find what you're
looking for? Check our
complete
site map!

Answers.com's take on Clarence-Rockland
Clarence-Rockland is a bilingual city in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell on the Ottawa River. Clarence-Rockland is located within Canada's National Capital Region.

(Note: it is interesting that the main comment coming from this reference to our City is about the kerfuffle over the bilingual signs issue...)
In January, 2005, the city introduced a bylaw which required all new businesses to put up signs in both English and French. The city is 60 per cent francophone, and the bylaw was widely supported within the community. Furthermore, The city of Clarence-Rockland was one of the first municipalities after Ottawa to introduce a non-smoking bylaw in all public establishments. This iniative has led other municipalities in the area to consider such a bylaw.


According to the 2001 Statistics Canada Census:

  • Population: 19,612
  • % Change (1996-2001): 5.3
  • Dwellings: 6,846
  • Area (sq. km.): 296.53
  • Density (persons per sq. km.): 66.1


Communities:
(If you click on the links you will get short profiles on the individual communities.)

For more from Answers.com, click here.
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C-R TOWNS:

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Cheney

Clarence Creek

Hammond

St. Pascal

 

Alfred-Plantagenet

Bearbrook

Cumberland Village

Curran

Navan

Sarsfield

Wendover

Rockland on the Internet

   

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