Update- looks like there were two quakes at 9:43 (4.8) and 9:53 am (4.3) outside of Arnprior, Ontario.

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Did anyone else feel that?

(40)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Awesome coach training session tonight! Loved it!

CRUSHED IT!

Some notes:

1) The other coaches were at least 5 yrs younger than me. The majority were 25-35. I guess most guys don’t father a child at 44. Testosterone-challenged woosies.

2) Being one step above sedentary for a year and then, well, doing wind sprints for 2 hours? Feels great. But I was consciously checking for signs of a heart attack. “No numbness in left arm? Gooood…”

3) oops. Spoke too soon.

4) nope. Just indigestion.

5) I love the Beautiful Game. While my heart is with hockey, the poetry of soccer? Sorry. There is no equivalent.

6) Finally, I’m going to be really, really, really sore tomorrow. Really sore.

7) Really. (14)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… because the schools around Alta Vista and its neighbourhoods haven’t seen her since the 2010 election.

But here she is, shilling for the OCDSB Chair running for the NDP nomination in Ottawa Centre.

Whew. Folks have been worried.

(62)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…shorts and sandals temps!

(41)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… even if the teacher’s action tomorrow is declared illegal, do NOT reverse yesterday’s decision to close all elementary schools. And here is why:

• Student safety – if told to go to work as usual or face consequences, many teachers will NOT and there is no way to anticipate how many, where and in which grades. How can a school’s senior staff plan for this? They can’t. And student safety may be put at risk… not at all intentionally by the teachers, but as an indirect consequence of choosing to keep the schools open under unsure staffing levels. The TDSB is keeping their schools closed regardless of the outcome of today’s OLB decision:
  

  Meanwhile, the 474 elementary and junior-high schools run by the Toronto District School Board will be closed Friday even if the government is able to a prevent the walkout by teachers.

  Even if teachers are forced back to work, there is no way to know exactly how many staff members will be able to come to work, according to a TDSB spokeswoman.

  “We can’t ensure that there’s enough adult supervision at the school to make it a safe environment,” said Shari Schwartz-Maltz.

• I cannot picture a more poisoned workplace than an Ontario elementary school tomorrow if the teachers are forced to abandon their one-day strike action. Strong union supporters will clash with those who are lukewarm.  Many will be very angry and I don’t want my kids to walk into a hornet nest!
• Opening the schools will make an already bad situation even worse for some families. It is bad enough that little notice was given of this action and many parents were forced to scramble. But if families do not find out until 8 pm tonight (as we have been told by the OCDSB), then there be even MORE scrambling to contact alternate care providers. And what about those providers? How can they staff their operations with this uncertainty! I know that many parents are not as fortunate as my wife and I who can take (our quickly dwindling) annual leave to cover off things like these, but many are not as lucky.

Ya know, folks, in my life I have seldom seen such a sequence of utterly stupid decisions-making.  Both the Ontario government and the teachers unions have shown such awful judgement on each step of this trek into Stupidville! It truly boggles the mind. (54)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

The Director of Education has just announced that all OCDSB elementary schools will be closed on Friday.

All Ottawa peeps in the English public system should plan accordingly. (40)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… are serious decisions that impact thousands of familites. The decision to cancel should not be made lightly and should keep the chidrens’ safety first and foremost. BUT, erring on the side of caution can be taken a bit too far.

Take the last two Mondays, for example, last Monday was most definitely an over reaction. The buses needn’t have been cancelled. Yesterday, maybe.

And then there’s this morning. I’m writing this on the bus. A bus that is slipping and sliding all over Albert Street!

If any day should have been a snow day, it should have been today. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of consistency in the decision-making process at the OSTA.

Transportation Cancellations

The safety of students is always the first consideration when the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) makes the decision to cancel transportation services.

The OSTA and the Consortium de transport scolaire d’Ottawa have developed joint procedures for school transportation cancellations in the case of inclement weather and/or adverse road conditions.

OSTA and Consortium de transport scolaire d’Ottawa staff make the decision to cancel school transportation services based on the the best forecasted weather information available at the time the decisions need to be made, in collaboration with several external sources, and our combined prior experience.

Several times each day, evening and overnight, OSTA staff receive up-to-date information from The Weather Network and Environment Canada regarding weather and road conditions in the City of Ottawa and the surrounding area. When weather or roads appear hazardous, OSTA staff review the weather and road information received. We are in contact with school bus operators, other area school board transportation staff, and municipal roads crews to assist in determining whether school transportation services will proceed or be cancelled for the day.

; (275)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

From the OCDSB site.

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ETFO Work To Rule Strategy

(426)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… the fault of the Liberals, claims the CPC.

Several areas of downtown Ottawa were left without electricity for a brief time yesterday.
Conservative Party spokesman, Pierre Polievre, released the following statement to the media this morning:

Clearly, this attack on the power grid was due to irresponsible and corrupt Liberal MPs mismanaging the small appliances in their Parliamentary kitchen. Our research has clearly indicated that 2 MPs, including Alberta-hating Justin Trudeau, plugged in a kettle, ran a microwave AND turned on the hot plate of the coffee maker AT THE SAME TIME!

This is the type of kitchen mismanagement that your strong Conservative majority government has been warning Canadians about since 2006.

Furthermore, we have obtained a 1997 interview with Mr. Trudeau in which he actually PRAISES kitchen appliance mismanagement!

Canada’s strong and stable Conservative majority government’s Parliamentary kitchens have clear rules posted in both languages that explain approved kitchen appliance procedures. And our MPs abide by them 100% of the time.

Make no mistake that if Canadians ever elect another Liberal government, they will be risking widespread power outages from coast to coast.

When reached for a reaction to Polievre’s remarks, Mr. Trudeau had the following to say:

WTF?

(66)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…is a small school in Ottawa (close to my ‘hood) that desperately needs a new playground. Well, any playground for that matter, cuz right now it ain’t got nuthin’ except for an small aging play structure, a sandbox and asphalt… lots of asphalt.

No trees. No shade of any kind, in fact.

When I think that the playground at my school – a zillion years back – had way more equipment, trees, shade, places to sit than this school has, I am gob-smacked! That was in the Middle Ages, people!

But hey, don’t take MY word for it!, here’s a screen shot of the school. The play area is to the left and yup, lots of asphalt, eh?

But what École Marie-Curie DOES have is a very concerned, active and motivated school Council and they have launched a drive to fund a new playground through the AVIVA Community Project funding competition. There are a number of rounds of public voting and the top 10 from each round go onto the next until winners are chosen – by votes – in each of the project categories (large, medium, small).

All you have to do is register and vote each day for the project. Everyone can vote once in a 24 hour period and we are now at day 4 of the 2 week-long round.

Here is the link.

Yes, you give them your email, but I registered during last year’s campaign and didn’t receive a single soliciting email… so they don’t spam you!

Please consider doing this. School Boards don’t fund these things anymore. Fundraising by parents and the help of generous corps like AVIVA are the ONLY ways to pay for what the kids need. (76)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario