ACNA Newsletter for June 2016

7/25/2019 ACNA Newsletter for June 2016

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A l p i n e C o m m u n i t y N e i g h b o u r h o o d A s s o c i a t i o n

J u n e 2 0 1 6

Our Annual Garden ContestOne thing that is noteworthy aboutalmost every property is that if there is

enough space for a lawn, there is more

growing there than just grass. People

want to have a mix of grass, bushes,

trees and flowers in their front yards.

For some residents, the additional

vegetation is very basic, but othersput many hours of work into what they

display to the community.

Each year, we honour these special

gardens by selecting those worthy of

greater attention. Our volunteer judges

will be out in July, and we will let youknow on Facebook, our blog and

this newsletter which gardens merit a

second look.

P r i n t e d i n c o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h T h e C i t y o f K i t c h e n e r




J u n e 2 0 1 6

Successful

Community

Cleanup and

Family Fun DayIn April, ACNA held its annual community

cleanup day to remove litter from the

public areas in our neighbourhood. A

day later we partnered with the Coun-

try Hills Recreation Association for the

always enjoyable Family Fun Day at the

Community Center. We would like to

thank the following for the success of

these events:

• Our neighbours who cleaned up

litter, and those who volunteeredand donated to the Food Bank at

Family Fun Day

• Tim Horton’s for donating free coffee

at Family Fun Day, and (along with

Sobeys) thank you gifts for the

cleanup day

• The City of Kitchener for their

support of both events

ACNA Has A NewExecutive Team,But No President

ACNA held its Annual General Meeting in May and we have a new executive team

but no President. After 5 years as President, Graham Jeffery decided to step down

but remain active with ACNA. Nobody as yet has volunteered to replace him. But

our executive team is in place, and will decide how active we wish to be.

We are always looking for volunteers to participate in our neighbourhood-building

activities, and new volunteers are never pushed to take a senior role with the

organization, if they don’t want to.

The new executive team is:

• President: none volunteered

• Susan Bishop ( Vice President)

• Graham Jeffery (Secretary)

• Jeff McKinnon (Member at Large)

• Ann Whittle (Member at Large)

• Karen Van Sickle (Member at Large)

• Alexis Brenner (Member at Large)

All are welcome at our regular

meetings. After the summer break,

our first meetings are:• September 13th, 7:00 pm at Country Hills Community Center

• October 4th, 7:00 pm at Alpine Public School

• November 1st, 7:00 pm at Alpine Public School

Contact Graham Jeffery ([email protected] ) if you would like to know more




J u n e 2 0 1 6

The City of Kitchener is now developing

a Neighbourhood Strategy program

which is designed to “...help people

connect and work together to do great

things in their neighbourhoods.” This

program will make it easier for people

to take good neighbourhood-building

ideas from concept to reality.

For example, using a neighbourhood

strategy, a neighbourhood could have:

• more vibrant community

gathering spaces

• more relationships

between neighbours

• more people engaged in a positive

and proactive approach to

neighbourhood development

• more support for vital community

partners in the work they’re

already doing

• a greater sense of belonging to the

neighbourhood and to the City as

a whole

This program will coordinate all the

different elements of a neighbourhood,

including people, groups, places and

spaces. It will facilitate greater accessto resources and support at the

neighbourhood level and foster greater

collaboration among neighbours,

community partners and city programs

and services.

For example, under a Neighbourhood

Strategy program...

• Residents could be asked for their in-

put on their neighbourhood as a whole,

and on how we can work together to

make our neighbourhood better.

• Positive initiatives can be proactively

started for a neighbourhood, rather

than nobody taking any actionbeyond simply fixing problems.

• City and Region government red

tape can be reduced.

• People in neighbourhoods can

better know those who provide

City government services, making

it easier to get projects started

and completed.

The Neighbourhood Strategy project

team is a broad-ranging group of localvolunteers who are active in neigh-

bourhood associations and community

development, along with a number of

Kitchener city staff involved with neigh-

bourhood issues, Graham Jeffery of

ACNA is one of these volunteers on

the team.

The strategy is still being built, using one

of the largest community consultation

exercises ever done in Kitchener. This

summer, they will be going out to askpeople what they want to see in their

neighbourhood and how they would

like to work with the City to implement

it. To see how you can contribute your

ideas go to the City of Kitchener web-

site, click on “Living in Kitchener”, then

“Neighbourhoods”, then #lovemyhood.

We look forward to your ideas.

Neighbourhood Strategy




J u n e 2 0 1 6

SummerFireworks SafetyFor safety reasons, the City of

Kitchener regulates the use of

fireworks the general public can

set off. Here are the rules...

• Fireworks can only be set off on

Victoria Day and Canada Day and

the days immediately before and

after Victoria Day and Canada Day.

• Fireworks cannot be sold to anyone

under the age of 18.

• Firecrackers are different from fire-

works, are illegal and cannot be sold

or set off anywhere in Kitchener.

Fireworks must not be set off:

• On any city street or highway

• In any woodlot, public trail, or ballpark

• On any City of Kitchener parkland,

unless you have a permit to do so

• Within 25 feet - 8 metres - of any

building or structure

• In areas containing dead

undergrowth or trees.

Here’s some advice as well. When

setting off fireworks, always:

• Use fireworks outdoors only;

• Choose a clear, open area;

• Check wind direction and speed;

• Always have an adult present;

• Have water handy;

• Use eye protection and wear

non-flammable clothing;

• Read and follow label directions;

• Keep spectators at least 20 metres -

65 feet - from launch area;• Wait 30 minutes after display has

ended and dispose of fireworks

properly (soak in water then dispose

in trash bin).

Never:

• Experiment with homemade

fireworks;

• Give fireworks to small children;

• Light more than one firework at atime, or relight ‘’duds;’’

• Throw or point fireworks at

other people;

• Carry fireworks in your pocket;

• Shoot fireworks in metal or

glass containers.




J u n e 2 0 1 6

Webs i t e : http ://alp ine-cna .blogspot .com/

Facebook group : Alp ine Commun ity Ne ighbourhood Assoc iat ion

JENNY BOURKE—NEWSLETTER LAYOUT

[email protected]

GRAHAM JEFFERY—PRESIDENT OF ACNA

519-503-4795 ∙ [email protected]

What can you

do to be more

involved in yourneighbourhood?• Come out to our monthly meetings.

We enjoy getting together. We plan

events, discuss issues of concern,

exchange information.

• Tell us what you want in this news-

letter, suggest a topic, or write

something yourself; perhaps an

interesting story you want to share.• Pay a special tribute to a neighbour,

through the newsletter, blog or

Facebook page.

• Get involved in our events - like our

Earth Day Cleanup, or the events

we organize with the Country Hills

Recreation Association.

• Join our Facebook page and

contribute there.

• Help us deliver the newsletter. It’s avolunteer effort! Four times a year

and no more than a few dozen

copies for each person to deliver.

Garbage andRecycling Rules

Will ChangeIn March 2017, the rules for curbside

garbage pickup provided by the Region

of Waterloo will change. According to

the Region, this will help to:

• Preserve and protect our environment.

• Improve air quality.

• Reduce costs and save space in

the landfill.

• Encourage everyone to think about

the waste they generate, and to

manage it responsibly.

While the details of these changes will

be communicated closer to March,

here is some basic information. There

will be...

• Bi-weekly garbage collection: Four

garbage bag/containers (maximum

of 50 pounds or 23 kilograms each)

will be collected once every two

weeks. This is a reduction from the

current 10 bag/container weekly

limit. 86% of Waterloo Region

households only put out one or two

bags of garbage each week.

• A bag tag program to accommodate

garbage set-out beyond the fouritem limit. A garbage tag is a sticker

that will be needed on each bag or

container above the limit. It will likely

cost about $2 for each extra item.

The Region will offer an initial grace

period and provide a small supply of

free tags to help residents get used

to the program changes. More infor-

mation about how to purchase tags

will be available closer to the launch

of the program.

• An exemption program for specialcircumstances, like for those homes

with significant amounts of

medical waste.

• Bi-weekly collection of appliances

and bulky items. Three items will be

collected once every two weeks.

• Unlimited weekly blue box and green

bin collection.

• Bi-weekly yard waste collection (April

to November).• “Double-up” days around the holidays,

allowing people to put out more

garbage without having to buy tags.

http://alpine-cna.blogspot.com/

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ACNA Newsletter for June 2016

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