Juin - Echo of Cantley / Écho de Cantley

Municipal AffairsDays of our LivesDivision or multiplication?It was difficult to keep tabson the complex web of dramaand intrigue surrounding the hotbuttonissue of whether or not toallow a homeowner to hive off aportion of their dwelling in orderto create another residentialunit The representative from theMont Cascades HomeownersAssociation had a word, or2000, to say about the wholeissue and it seems that a mightyrift has formed between theAssociation’s Supreme Leaderand uncounted renegade BoardMembers who are not towingthe party line. The voracity of apetition presented by CouncillorPélissier, who represents Districtdes Monts, was immediatelycalled into question. Was itdemocratic or not democratic?Could Fascists be lurking inthe hills of Cantley? Were thenames appearing in black andwhite collected at gunpoint? Thedrama was palpable. In the end,Council was crystal clear – OneRoof – One Additional Unit,period. A register was declaredopen. That’s when the dramaKristina JensenThe May 2 nd Municipal Council Meeting provided its audience, many of whom areregulars who tune in faithfully month after month, with yet another riveting instalmentin the ongoing series I like to call “Days of our Lives”. The cast is a stellar one. HisWorship Steve Harris has slipped into the leading role of Mayor with ease and is ably assistedby an ensemble of amiable supporting characters. Michel Pélissier, a veteran actor,is joined by several debutants. Aimé Sabourin, Suzanne Pilon, Vincent Veilleux, MarcSaumier and René Morin collective stars’ are rising. I hope they have a good agent.This month’s episode began with the usual “Q & A” period (my personal favourite segmentof the evening’s entertainment.) A veritable potpourri of issues was raised, some ofwhich are re-occurring nightmares, I mean….themes.mounted with the introduction ofthe conspiracy theory.MEA CULPA.The ECHO, which is experiencinggrowing pains associatedwith being a volunteer-drivenorganization, was drawn intothe fray when a debutante teammember working on the last issueinadvertently forgot to includethe English version of the noticesent to us by the Clerk, MmePaula Pagé, advising residentsof the pending register. As manyof the homeowners in MontCascades are unilingual English,there was some talk that thiswas a deliberate attempt to pull a“fast-one”. Tensions were high.Unfortunately, it was not a nefariousplot twist. We goofed. Whatcan we say except “Sorry!” Inany event, calmer heads prevailedand basically, everybody agreedto disagree. Was Mont Cascadeexcluded or included in the newprovision? That depends. If,following their own meeting, theassociation reaches a decisionthat differs from the one reachedby council, the door was leftCantléen disparuIsabelle Lessardwide open for the black-flies toget in and for them to come backto the next session of Council,who crossed their hearts that theywould reconsider whatever itwas they just decided. This asksthe question, “Who is in chargehere?”TA DA DUMP TA DADUMPMaking a guest appearanceat the open mike was SueMcClelland, who delivered animpassioned plea to the Mayorand his merry band of councilorsimploring them to stop dealingwith the usual bunch of nobodiesat Québec City and go right tothe Great Big Head. She askedthat a letter be sent to PremierCharest, outlining the antics ofthe Beastie Boys who ownthe dump and the ineptitudeof the Two Stooges (Mulclair& The New Kid On theBlock) that we have beenstuck dealing with. This wasfollowed by another citizenwho delivered a slam-dunkwhen she demanded that ourelected leaders lead. WhoaUn homme de 58 ans de Cantley est porté disparu depuis plus d’un mois. RobertMcGarry a été vu pour la dernière fois à son domicile le 17 avril dernier. Selon lesinformations de la MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais, l’homme pourrait avoir des problèmesde santé mentale.Le Service de la sécurité publique de la MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais demandel’aide de la population et des médias afin de le retracer. Monsieur McGarry mesure 1m75et pèse 93 kg, il a les cheveux gris et les yeux bleus. De plus, celui-ci serait paralysédu côté droit du visage en plus d’arborer une cicatrice sur ce même côté de la tête. Ilporte aussi une barbe et des lunettes.Selon les informations recueillies lors de l’enquête policière, M. McGarry fréquenteraitrégulièrement certains bars de la région et celui-ci pourrait se trouver dansla région de l’Outaouais ou bien de Montréal. De plus, l’homme a quitté sa résidencesans sa voiture.Nelly. What a concept! TheCO 2readings collected at thesite have been over the limit, notonce but a few hundred times.People are getting fed up, whichbrings me to the climax of theevening…THE TIME FORTALKING IS OVERThe award for the bestperformance of the eveninggoes to the veteran actor, whoshall remain nameless in orderto protect his identity. This actionhero, known simply as TheLone Ranger, leaped into action,declaring the time for talking isover. It is time to raise a littlehell. Forget the letter writing.Unless someone fonctionnairein Québec City gets a paper cutopening it, our letter of discontentwill most probably pass unnoticed.No siree Bob. The onlystamping the Lone Ranger is goingto do is on someone’s head.The crowd went wild. Yippeeyi-yay,Cow Patty. There’s goingto be a showdown. After the dustsettled and the Lone Ranger rodeoff into the sunset, decorum wasrestored and the meeting groundon.HARD ACT TO FOLLOWThe usual countless requestsfor derogation L’ÉCHO followed de CANTLEY, and al-juin 2006 7though they paled in comparisonto Kemo Sabe, (hey that guywas a tough act to follow) theyprobably play one of the mostimportant roles in the day today life of a lot of folks livingin our municipality. Can I buildmy garage or not? Can I buildmy house with a roof that isaccepted anywhere in the worldexcept Cantley – or not? The listdrones on and on. My hat goesoff to the Mayor and his Council.Not once did they nod off. Asthe list of derogations wore on,the room quietly emptied. Bythe end, only a handful of bravesouls remained for the rolling ofthe credits and THE END.If you would like to exerciseyour democratic right toparticipate in one of the CouncilMeetings and make your débutas an extra on Days of ourLives, the show airs every firstTuesday of the month at theMunicipal Hall. Start time is 7pm. Admission is free.PS: Bring your own popcorn.La police demande à toute personne qui aurait aperçu l’homme en question de communiquerimmédiatement avec le sergent-détective Dominic Lafrenière au 1-819-459-2422 – poste234 ou au numéro de téléphone sans frais 1-877-459-2422 – poste 234.